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FireCraftConcept · on request

Glass from the furnace

Broken bottles become a cup in front of you, in one of Cairo's last glassblowing workshops.

Where
Historic Cairo
Proposed length
2–3 hours
Nerve
Nerve: Curious
A glassblower in Cairo seated at his bench, blowing through a long metal pipe, in a photograph from 2016.
Recycled Cairo's historic workshops blow their glass from broken glass gathered across the city. Source

The story

Cairo's glassblowers work from recycled glass: bottles and broken panes collected around the city are melted and blown again into cups, vases and lamps (Egypt Independent).

One family workshop in the City of the Dead traces its start to a grandfather working under the Ottomans, and is described as one of the oldest still working in Egypt (Egyptian Streets, 2015). We cite it for the history, not as a partner.

Our judgement: Most visitors meet this glass as a souvenir on a shelf. This puts you at the furnace it came out of.

What happens

  1. Stand at the furnace mouth while a maker gathers molten glass on the end of a pipe.
  2. Watch a vessel take shape by breath, gravity and a few wooden tools.
  3. Try the pipe yourself where the maker judges it safe, and choose the colour of a small piece.
  4. Leave the piece to cool slowly, then collect it or have it sent on.

A proposed shape, not a fixed programme. The host sets the order on the day.

What it asks of you

  1. Nerve: CuriousAnyone who is curious. You sit, watch, try and ask.This experience
  2. Nerve: BoldPhysically demanding or unnerving: steep, tight, deep, hot or remote.
  3. Nerve: QualifiedA certificate is required before you start. We ask for it, and so will the operator.

Heat and noise more than nerve. You stand close to a furnace in closed shoes and cotton clothes, and you follow the maker's word about where to stand.

What we confirm before you go

  • Which workshop hosts, and whether visitors may blow glass or only watch
  • Protective clothing, eye protection and where children may stand
  • Whether your piece can cool in time to leave with you, or is sent on

Where it fits

More in fire

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Sources and review

Reviewed on by Deluxe Trips Egypt. Facts are attributed to their sources; where we give a judgement, we say so. This page names no host, school, boat or workshop.

Photo: FischerFotos, CC BY-SA 4.0