Egypt's Stone Carvers Keep Their Ancestors' Traditions Alive | Still Standing
For over sixty years, Sayed Al-Mataany has been using thousand-year-old, Ancient Egyptian methods to carve hieroglyphs into vases and sculptures - but major blows to Egypt’s tourism industry have caused a steady decline in the number of tourists coming to Luxor to buy his ornaments. We went to Luxor in Egypt to see how his business is still standing.
Sayed does not have a website. He sells his work locally in Luxor.
MORE BUSINESS INSIDER VIDEOS:
Why 99% Of Smithsonian's Specimens Are Hidden In High-Security | Big Business
kzhead.info/sun/gsmslZWmqamOnmg/bejne.html
Why Japanese Denim Is So Expensive | So Expensive
kzhead.info/sun/f7dxp9l_rGt5iKc/bejne.html
How Logs of Fruit Pulp Replace Firewood and Charcoal | World Wide Waste
kzhead.info/sun/ppVuj7d6rH-LdWg/bejne.html
------------------------------------------------------
#Crafting #StillStanding #BusinessInsider
Business Insider tells you all you need to know about business, finance, tech, retail, and more.
Visit us at: www.businessinsider.com
Subscribe: kzhead.info
BI on Facebook: read.bi/2xOcEcj
BI on Instagram: read.bi/2Q2D29T
BI on Twitter: read.bi/2xCnzGF
BI on Snapchat: www.snapchat.com/discover/Business_Insider/5319643143
Boot Camp on Snapchat: www.snapchat.com/discover/Boot_Camp/3383377771
Egypt's Stone Carvers Keep Their Ancestors' Traditions Alive | Still Standing
“I only care about doing the job right.” Spoken like a true craftsman and artist.
Too bad everyone don't take their job seriously like this ,imagine going through the McDonald's drive tru
I always wanted to go to Egypt, but was told that in recent years it's a nightmare for a tourist.
May Ptah bless him and fellow craftsman.
@@MrBakedDaily poor look lo yg
And no overloading boss saying go faster.
“Young people do this job well. We just need to help them a little bit”. Always appreciate a guy who respects young people.
As an Egyptian watching this made me feel proud and grateful to have some ppl who still care about our ancient culture and history
Your culture is almost similar to indian vedic culture. I mean you also rear animals for milk and take care of them and use cow dung cakes to roast things. We also don’t kill animals to satisfy tongue.
@@KZheadVivek using dung cake as fuel is universal where ever wood is scarce
@@KZheadVivek Funny. I've been to egypt earlier this year and I've been eating a lot at an indian restaurant since there werent many vegetarian options elsewere.
@@KZheadVivek not at all Egyptian culture is older than indian culture and they were most advanced like Egyptian is oldest language and pyramids oldest man made large architectures. Pharaohs ruling style was totally different also and kemetism also very different. So they were not the same at all. The problem of most Indians is if they see something very old they try to connect in some way to india Which is really bad.
@@logohub1234 who told you egyptian culture is older than vedic culture?
I still find it mind blowing how people still cant comprehend the craftsmanship that went into ancient Egyptian artifacts and monuments. This mans ancestors would be very proud of him and I hope business and tourism returns to his country.
"playing soccer in the temples" Imagine how fascinating his life was as a child growing up around these ancient temples, statues, etc?
Just an abandoned place to play, like an old parking lot...
I bet he angered one pharaoh or two back in his day of playing football in the temples
@@muurrarium9460 maybe you are not art lover
@@user-cd2rb4un1f Maybe I am a realist... Very few people appreciate the place they grow up in. (f.e. Tourists coming over to look at things you have known all your life and are commonplace? Weird!)
I can imagine that, it would be great with no running water or electricity, or homes, or grass, or trees, and trash littered everywhere
He is 75, and still doing the craft work perfectly. May he continue many more years and pass on the baton to next generation.
The sculpture that he is sitting next to in a few of the scenes is so nice.
Putting this talented gentleman on youtube he can motivate a whole universe of budding sculpturers. Thank you sir
As an Egyptian, I feel extremely proud watching this video ♥️
As an American, I pat you on the head
I love how they keep the ancient traditions alive and use hand tools, he’s right the only way to sculpt it the right way is by hand 🤚 ❤❤
Would love to see them carve grade 8 granite with hand tool
Beautiful to see people continuing arts from their ancestory.
This is not ancestory these people are arab they stole egypt and pretend they are egyptian
It really is cool to see people not just in Egypt but alsk in India and other cool places like these
No ancestry involved here, educate yourself please
@@Kultcha23 obviously you have not watched the video.
Beautiful art made by great craftsmen. Nothing short of spectacular.
Something I've come to appreciate about these business insider videos detailing various culturally significant historical skills and trades around the world is the actual effort they put into pronouncing the names of these unique people and important aspects of the culture they are documenting. Even if the pronunciation isn't always entirely accurate.
not really she butchered Ahmed's name it's احمد not اخمد use google translation voice and you will know how much difference it's she literally changed his name meaning from "the most praised" to "extinguished"
I feel this series was created specifically to help these artisans during the pandemic. I hope it helps them and brings more awareness and consumers!
These great souls are national treasures. Thank you to all those who work this hard to produce such wonderful artifacts. 😊💚
And some fake archeologist have the guts to refer to those ancient buildings as built by aliens. When these kind of people who do stick to the crafts still exist. Although not the same, it is clear that you don't need power tool to make stunning craft.
Not Archeologist or Academic says the building were done by Aliens ...it's just a comment for ignorant people I have degree of Egyptian history ..Egyptian used to work with stone thousands of years before reaching building astonishing building , they are the true masters of stone work.
I did a tour in Egypt in 2013 during the political upheaval. It was an incredible time to be there, but I really felt for the people who were struggling trying to make a living from tourism. You have to be careful with where you shop and what products you buy. I remember one place in Luxot that my tour guide took me to gave us a presentation when we arrived to show us how we can tell the difference between real and fake items. However, his presentation featured a genuine carved stone figure and an aerated piece of plaster that was crudely painted and so full of air bubbles that it barely looked like what it was supposed to. While this presentation was happening, there were artisans sitting around carving stone. The guy that was giving the presentation told us that everything in the store was genuine. Most of the stuff was, but I was looking at a statue of what they claimed was lapis lazuli, and when I flipped it over to look at the bottom, I saw air bubbles in the resin. At a different place later on my tour, I was looking at stuff in a gift shop in a hotel, and the store owner tried to convince that his lapis lazuli was genuine until I showed him the air bubbles in the resin. He came up with an excuse about why he lied. There are genuine artisans, and there are a lot of beautiful arts and crafts made in Egypt, even if some aren't exactly as they are labelled, so buyer beware, but don't be afraid to buy some beautiful pieces to support the artisans when you are there.
Sad that a few dishonest sellers spoils the market the artisans work really hard to Make their carvings & crafts beautiful & r proud of their culture tourists should continue to appreciate & buy them to ensure their livelihoods & traditional skills can continue 👏🏻👍🏻🙂
Good warning. To add to that, there is almost zero chance of finding something out of true lapis lazuli because that rock is incredibly expensive (definitely wouldn't show up in any tourist shop!). Tourist shops exist solely to get as much money out of you as cheaply as they can.
I had exactly the same experience there as well. You could recognise machine and hand crafted items with some of his explanations, but most standard figurines where obviously fake (pained plaster) and it is sad they lie about it.
@@carlotta4th also, most of the lapis lazuli come from Afghanistan. Recent events have made it even rarer than before.
im egyptian and i see these people selling souvenirs every time i go to the pyramids, i didn't know those were handmade. i always buy one though.
Well the work of these people is beautiful. I have to disagree with his lack of power tools though. An angle grinder for taking out larger bits of stone does not prevent you from using the traditional tools to properly shape and finish the job. Take a five day job and make it into a two day job. The expense of power tools though would be a problem. Either way, a lot of what he does cannot easily be replicated by tools like a dremel. His skills are awesome.
Yeah but in his eyes the stone being touched at all by machine tools probably completely invalidates it. It would speed up the process tremendously but by using machines it's no longer truly traditional.
@Hex Right and not only the expense of the power tools is the problem but the government controls the lights and sometimes have lights out. This is a huge problem.
Did you see the Foredom Chuck Key in a number of frames? They use power tools...
@@stillwaterrocks1508 what times? Because I didn't see one a single time
@@RapTapTap69 3:01
As a fellow Egyptian, I can't be more proud!!!
Egyptians are cool only love from Greece
It would be nice if one of the younger people would help him set up a KZhead channel showing his artwork & how he makes it. As well as how he compares it to the older work. I think it would bring a lot more attention to his artwork & it's history. As well as encouraging new people to try it out. It would also preserve some of his hard earned skills. It wouldn't need to just be him either. It could highlight the craftsmen who are learning from him. The attention from it would also bring more buyers to him. People who having a better understanding of just what it takes to produce this work are more willing to pay a good price for it. Sure wish I could afford a small piece myself. Especially if it was related to cats.
Internet speed is not so great in Egypt. If the younger Egyptian help create a KZhead channel to feature his crafts, it's mostly in Arabic because English is not well spoken like in Morocco. Majority of the Egyptian in Luxor, Aswan are working in the tourist industry, so the padamic hit them hard, they didn't get any help, except feeds for their animals. My tour guide said they have to help themselves. When walking along east Luxor along the Karnek temple and Luxor temples, the vendors were very aggressive, it was a turn off for me. Just staying on the west band Luxor, there are mostly locals homes, I also get to buy some Suveniers without pushy salesman. I made short videos of such workshops curving sessions and the big shops selling these carving arts posted on my profile. Feel free to check it out and let me know if you think 🙂
“we used to leave school and go play soccer in the temples.” meanwhile i only grew up near a cvs lmao
This is the exact kind of carving I’ve been wanting to do. Massive respect for the amount of effort that goes into it.
When I was a kid I had a book about King Tut and I desperately wanted to go to Egypt to see all the ancient monuments.. I probably never will because I’ve seen so many travel vlogs that make it look like a nightmare to deal with all the shiesty tour guides and vendors. It’s too bad, because I love the history.
Same. The travel vlogs and comments attach to it doesn't paint Egypt as tourist-friendly. The only way you'd get a pleasant trip is if you're invited by the President of Egypt for a tour...
I am Egyptian and I want to tell you if you want to go on a tourist journey have an Egyptian guide u, don't leave ur hotel alone cause vendors are going to abuse ur lack of knowledge and the dollar price is high due to inflation
yeah i went to egypt 2years ago and you couldnt leave the hotel without a guide because people would crowd you right away. luckily we had an amazing tourguide in luxor who did keep most of the vendors away from us and knew the ways around all the tourist traps. History wise i can highly recommend visiting and theres also a lot of super friendly people!
look man iam an Egyptian and iam gonna tell you how to not get in trouble , don't use a pro camera on a stand to take vids , don't make your woman wear shorts or tight clothes in public because we are an eastern society ( so we are conservative ), don't ride any camel or horse at the pyramids or any where for that matter , Egypt is safe , but the police and the scammers are the no.1 trouble making element to any tourist ,so don't worry about the real crime element , unless you get to a really dark area , which i doubt you will be there in the first place, for your safety , don't go out alone after 10 pm unless you have an Egyptian guide with you, so there is no risks if you are a real tourist and not a vlogger , vloggers must say that Egypt is bad because they want to film videos , and like i mentioned , don't take a pro camera with you, and take photos with your phone only, oh and the people here are awsome , but not many will be able to speak English , but in new cairo there might be a higher chance , Egypt is not a desert like in hollywood movies , there is modern Egypt and there is some poor areas iam not gonna lie ,( i recommend you being here in the summer to visit dahab ,sharm El sheikh, the pyramids ,luxor and aswan ) btw sharm el sheikh and dahab most of them have English as there second language( and your woman can wear what ever she likes in dahab and sharm el sheikh btw ) , so you won't be alone there , have fun , and welcome to Egypt .
You could go if you can, just always be with you tour guide the entire time to help understand who is scamming you and who isnt, if you do go, check the price of the egyptian pound in dollars(18 egp) and just see if it is worth it, also make sure to plan your visit carefully and discuss with a tour guide.
Culture continuity for over 6000 years great to see that❤️
This is not their history.
@@samtheharvester6188 Then who's history is that?🤣🤣 it's Egyptian history, if you think that black people built this civilization "which isn't even supported by a one single scientific nor historic evidence" then you're delusional and racist. Didn't you hear what the black professor S.O.Y keita said about MODERN Egyptians being the ANCIENT Egyptians in his 2005 research page n.227? Man just go cry somewhere else🤣😂
@@samtheharvester6188 ("The peoples of the Egyptian and northern Sudanese Nile valley, and supra-Saharan Africa now speak Arabic in the main but, as noted, this largely represents language shift. Ancient Egyptian is Afroasiatic, and cur rent inhabitants of the Nile valley should be understood as being in the main, although not wholly, descendants of the pre-neolithic regional inhabitants, although this apparently varies by geography as indicated by the frequency of Near Eastern haplotypes/lineages (Table 1, Lucotte and Mercier 2003a, Manni et al. 2002, Cruciani 2002)") Genetics, Egypt, and History: Interpreting Geographical Patterns of Y Chromosome Variation S. O. Y. Keita and A. J. Boyce Go find your lost land and civilization away from Egypt and North Africa 😘
@@joeel-shazly8326 Lmaooooo this man said ancient egyptian civilization is afro asiatic and they are the main inhabitants of AFRICA lmaooooo Hahahahahaha!!!!!! You cannot make this up. Habibi no one told you that you are invaders into AFRICA, from Iraq and Syria coming in 672 AD after the Byzyntines? You are not Africans. Go back to your no history having lands.
@@samtheharvester6188 your not watching a American guy carving
Such dedication to preserving history!
More like, exploting history you mean? Because that is the only thing happening right now in egypt. Are you aware that these people would tear down pyramids and statues, if it wasn't an easy money source right?
Does the stone dust not cause respiratory problems without breathing protection?
Yes, silicosis. But some stone is worse than others
Old man my ass ,Seems like this super old man work in this industry for 60 years, and he smokes 2 ,and no signs of respiratory problems💪😭 seems like we got softer😂🤣
its only when you work with machines. Power tools are so agressive, that they produce a lot of micro dust in the air. With a simple File you wont die for sure.
Its natural stone.. its like breathing dirt in the air in a dusty area... i can pretty much guarantee its waaay worse living in a big city and breathing in toxic smog 24/7 365....
Silica dust . Should kill these guys but they’re goin strong still odd
Give them some of that crystal quarts granite and let's see how well they do... This is a modern day labor intensive version of an art the ancients mastered with science
It hurts my heart seeing the crisis thats happening in Egypt, a country with souch a wonderful history and culture...
What crisis?
Crisis in Egypt?there 2 million from Syria in Egypt and more iraqi and Yemeni and Sudan people refugees in Egypt and working in Egypt. 6 million from Arabic are refugees in Egypt and more African people too .and one million Russian living and working in Egypt resorts hotels.
Looking at the craftman to form the stone is making me realize how hard this live to be beautiful
He should have a website, I'd love to buy some of his products
He should sell them on the internet, I would totally buy one specially knowing its hand made by a master.
This man is a true Egyptian
I've always wanted to go to Egypt but I wouldn't go now. There's too much uncertainty about safety and I'm now too old to add that to my list. I do wish I'd gone in my 20s when life was kinder.
Egypt is very safe now there are a lot of tourists that come to Egypt every day from every country you can come here any time and you will be welcomed
I hope he lives long and prospers because what he does is mega cool
Visited these carvers when I went to luxor in 2006. Tried out the hand drill too. Really good people
the artisans work really hard to Make their carvings & crafts beautiful & r proud of their culture tourists should continue to appreciate & buy them to ensure their livelihoods for traditional skills can continue 👏🏻👍🏻🙂
With countries like egypt the problem is the govt. They current puppet regime is belligerent and hostile to all going so far as to harass and censor all journalists coming in and generally creating a vibe of hostility that is strangling the nation. The arab spring has truly wrought ruin. Freed from a ruthless dictator only to land in the arms of arrogant apathetic puppets.
you see these men think that they are just making copies souvenirs truth is they are still the same people using the same methods and the same materials on the same spot of land and even are still belonging to the same country which makes their work actually original even if they did not know it themselves
long live egypt more than 6000 years
thanks to business insider for uploading these videos.!
I heard a lot of negative reviews about these vendors and how they persist to buy their artifacts to the tourists But if that was the only way to keep a 5000 year old art style, I would gladly buy from them ❤
vendors only try to attract buyers you should say "no thank you" "la shokran (arabic)" and they will leave you alone simple as that but foreigners just come and expect it's the same as their country and go around solo without a guide or a local friend those are easy target for scammers (which by the way are all over the world in every country not only in Egypt as some western like to claim) and the Egyptian law will not be able to do anything for the victim of scamming because if they read the Egyptian law then you will know that "The Law Does Not Protect Fools" many foreigners visit without knowing the law and except the law is the same everywhere like there country and then they get arrested because they broke the law
Scamming is legal in egypt, you have no choice but to buy
@@aa-wi2xi in middle eastern and north african countries It is part of their culture to bargain about the price, so yes it is not considered a scam, tourists just don't study the place they go
@@aa-wi2xi no you are just easy target and can't get yourself a good deal
Great to see traditions continue.
In another universe they must be thriving! This craftmanship is so underrated.
*I pray that everyone who is watching this masterpiece becomes really happy and successful in life!*
Good for them. Now what a blessing to have these men teach their trade across the globe.
See ...No Aliens. ...just hard working, talented humans make these things.
Ancient egypts was so treasure history. I loved since i was child. Glad they trying for craves old time how they used.
عاااش يا حج سعد و عااااش لأحمد و الناس الصغيرة الو يورثوا الحاجه الروعه دي!!
So cool😍😍😍This is a real art❤️
I remember in the late 90s in Egypt when cheap plastic molds began to replace the handmade stone works in the bazaars and tourist shops.
thank you for sharing!
I love the art! Very talented. Beautiful they keep tradition alive!
Amazing work
That is a nice form of art
Another interesting vdo.... keep em coming
Here, Hancock, we got living sculptor of ancient Egypt.
برافو يا حاج أحمد اتمني لو نستطيع فتح سوق لك في الخارج
Long live Egypt
Good luck in life and business
Art, this is great because I was raised to respect stone work, even simple farm field walls. Before I was 6, Dad had me 'building' toy, free-standing arches and cutting slate.
>everyday items
Beautiful ❤️
والدي العزيز د. سيد المطعني
Awesome work
Nice video.
So interesting. However I wish you would go into so much detail. These crafts are being lost to the world of mass manufacture. We need to support these artisans who spend years and years perfecting their craft.b
'still standing' That's what she said last night
Nice one 🤣
Amazing Video
Scarabs always catch my attention ever since a Rochard test in my early twenties . Am always noticing them where and when one sees them .
Business Insider please use the metric system for all your videos, the world does not consist Only of America.
It's the only part of the world that matters though. Don't expect an American business to cater to your inability to understand imperial measurements.
Even he is a master today in what he is doing! Compared to the things found in the past, he Looks like a rookie
Would be good to these people uses mask and glasses to avoid breathe stone powder and contact with eye. Amazing job!
So, was that soft stone they were mostly alabaster then? Because it looked a lot like soapstone to me...
All I see is people stuck in time, glamorising the past and limiting their potential as a result. Life is never constant but continually evolving. His work could be far better if he took the best of the past and combined it with the best of the present. That's what the carvers of the past did; they worked with the best technology of their time.
No what he is doing is right thing to proof to African Americans idiots that Egyptians are the descendants of pharaos
👍👌👏 Oh WOW! Simply fantastic!
I love it. I hope his business continues to flourish. But I also can't help but think of how much dust he has in his lungs.
This guy is so cool.
I wish Sayed had a website so I could purchase his wares.
Hi, I am his neighbour. I take from him to sell in my shop. I can ship some things over to you?
Amazing respect to them
RA BLESS THIS MAN!
It's still standing because it's a beautiful craft, that and the internet
He should set up an online shop I would definitely buy a vase from him
The ones you buy on Amazon would probably turn out to be Chinese copies
I hope the old masters teach the younger ones and this work never dies,amasing people I would still like to know how the pyamids were built.
The uk probably loves this guy
welcome from EGYPT
Beautiful piece of Art...dunkard
Interesting!
Beautiful craftsmanship, I'm just still wondering how Egyptians do it in granite with such precision.
same thing, takes longer. bit different when you're doing it for some kind of belief, wjen you'd happily spend your life on a stone and train your son to do the same.
@@cantbanme792 it's interesting how their craftsmanship and art just distinctly differ from others and how well it stood against time. I'm still amazed!
Different tools, lots more work. The precision of their work is very impressive but it’s not as precise as many make it out to be.
@Graf von Losinj I also noticed that, the pre-dynastic era was very technical in their knowledge with arts it fascinates me, the precision in their carvings is amazing and also sad at the same time that it was lost through time.
Probably they’re working with soft stone, but granite and diorite is a whole another story.
I was in Luxor last year for vacation and the great majority of the people selling tourist goods were so annoying. following you and asking you to buy their stuff
I'd lov to have something this old guy made.
عاش يا حاج سيد .. الله ينور عليك
LOL what century r u livin in !!@@observeandlearn123
Incredible ❤️❤️☺️☺️👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼.
Are these the actual descendents of egyptians or the descendants of the invaders of the actual egyptians that's now carving the work of the actual egyptians?
Dna studies proved that most of egyptians are still natives
B is right
he is a descendant of the persian invasion.
He has an alien in his closet with precision equipment)))
I don't know who the narrator of this series, but I'd listen to them talk about anything.
Just GREAT.😍👀⏳🌅🇩🇰🇺🇸
عظيمة يا مصر يا ارض الفسا
my ancestors used these tools so am i, reminds me of this joke: One day a little girl was watching her mum make roast beef. She cut off the ends, wrapped it in string, seasoned it and set it in the roasting pan. The little girl asked her mum why she cut off the ends of the roast. The mum replied, after some thought, that it was the way that her mother had done it. That night the grandma came to dinner and the little girl and her mum went to her and asked why she had cut the end off of the roast before cooking. After some thought grandma replied, that was the way her mother had done it. Now great grandmother was quite old and in a nursing home. But the little girl went with her mum and grandma to see her and again asked the question. The great grandmother looked at them a bit annoyed and said: “So it would fit in the pan, of course.”
Wonder how many generations is it to continue that kind of stone masonry? And they still use hieroglyphs for their masonry, that's interesting to still carry those on. Using imagery is just as useful a using text. Thank you Greece for translate those hieroglyphs into Greek text.
no electrics just muscle and skill