THE TENTMAKERS OF CAIRO

A very sleepy Diane!

THE TENTMAKERS OF CAIRO

My husband and I went to Egypt in 2004.  At that time I had only been quilting a year.  If only I knew then what I know now about quilting, I would have beautiful quilt photos to share, and perhaps a quilt from Cairo as well.  Because I was so new to quilting my knowledge was very limited and I wasn't really familiar with appliqué either.  It wasn't until many years later when The Tentmakers of Cairo became world famous that I realized what I’d seen in 2004 when I was in Egypt.

One of the many places we stayed at while in Egypt was Luxor.  Very early one morning, while it was still dark, our small group of OAT travelers (Overseas Adventure Travel) went to the banks of the Nile River and carefully walked across a narrow plank into the waiting boat.  We crossed the Nile River to the west bank where we were going to watch the sun rise over the Nile.

When we arrived on the opposite bank of the Nile we walked to a large tent where we were to have breakfast.  Inside the tent were several short, round tables, with squatty stools to sit on.  Someone was cooking us a hot breakfast on a camp-type stove, and huddled in one section of the tent were local women cooking bread in stone ovens.  I was still only half awake at that time of morning but as I looked around me I saw that the tent was made up entirely of quilts.  They were very large and extremely beautiful.  I took several pictures but in 2004 my camera still used film and the quality was not like the camera I now use on trips.

After breakfast we went outside to watch the sunrise over the Nile which was gorgeous to see.  We then walked through the small village, stopping to watch women squatting on the ground making bread for their family, and visiting a villager's home.  On their roof they had a homemade washing machine the owner was very proud of.  After our visit to the village we walked back to the boat, boarded, and made our way across the Nile to Luxor.

It wasn't until The Tentmakers of Cairo became well known and famous among the quilting world that I realized what I had seen, as well as my unique experience of having breakfast inside a tent completely made up of exquisite quilts all hand appliquéd by The Tentmakers of Cairo.