The Maker of Wooden Shoes

Written By: Sara Ahmed

Edited By: Norhan Kamal Kamal

The craft of wooden shoes is about to go extinct from Egypt, as there are fewer people who work in that field and fewer people who are willing to wear wooden shoes. This article will be discussing the craft of making wooden shoes and its history.

• Where to Find Them

Due to the lack of wooden shoes’ fans, people buy them to leave them at the mosques or as an ongoing charity while others buy them to wear them at home. Although they do not exceed 10 Egyptian pounds, they are about to extinct due to the decrease in the people who manufacture them.

• History of Wooden Shoes

Regarding its history, they were very popular in the Egyptian culture especially during the Mamluk era and how it was said that the queen Shajar Al-Durr was killed on the hands of the servants hitting her with wooden shoes. Moreover, they are a symbol of pampering and they were worn by the majority of the Egyptians especially the poor due to their low price.

• Uses of Wooden Shoes

It was proven that they are very healthy even for people with health issues like foot allergies and diabetes, because they are warm during winter and cold during summer. They were also worn at homes and outside, that is why men used to wear them outside so they would protect their feet from all the mud.

• Reasons behind Extinction

Nowadays, people do not learn the art of this manufacture, only a specific category of the old people in our society know how to make them. In addition, they are not learning how to make them, so when these old people die, the manufacture of wooden shoes will die with them.

Last but not least, if you want to save the craft of wooden shoes, you probably should buy them more. Also, you can you advice your friends and family to buy them as well to get more people to try to save this craft.