Its not just off the beaten track, its like journeying back in time a pre-industrial time, of ancient machines ..ancient work practices
and forget the occupational health and safety laws.
The speed and dexterity of these artisans can hypnotise you their wages would appal anyone and theres one shop you just cant walk past without taking a closer look.
Hes the ironing man though man of iron is probably a better title. His names Amm-Rifad (pron:refeiat) Amm meaning uncle, which after 49 years at the board - is how his customers see him. More than a job, he considers ironing with the foot an honourable art.
IRON MAN SYNCH (3:19) This is the original way this is the professional way. Steam irons are cheating. All kinds of material, thick or thin, even pure silk, can be ironed perfectly with this method
IRONING MAN AT WORK V/O 3: By some estimates there are only two or three foot-iron men still plying their trade in Cairo...offering old-fashioned methods and meticulous attention to detail.
(4:27) There are few, very few of us left. Its extremely hard and requires great energy and perseverance
Amm-Rifads irons are over a hundred years old, and weigh a ton. Around 50 kilos actually, and spit-sizzling hot.(show Rifad testing for heat)The secret is in the foot and its the foots pressure, Amm-Rifad says, which makes his work superior to any new-fangled method.
IRON MAN SYNCH (14:47) I started when I was eight I started making two or three piastres a day, but then I started making more. Up to half a pound a day, that was then half a pound was better than ten pounds today.
Always, better in the old days As an apprentice, Amm-Rifad remembers his first master was like a father to him, in a punishing kind of way
Rev Q: Did he ever beat you? Was he ever severe?(16:53) Yes, of course, of course its necessary, its important, thats the way to learn. If you dont iron the sleeve correctly down to the very end then you deserve to be beaten. He would beat me with a stick and didnt care if he injured me.
Amm-Rifads service is no sideshow his clients are local, and loyal. Like 27-year old Walid who knows value when he sees it
(40:18) Hes 100 per cent. Hes the tops. I bought this jacket 2 days ago. I took it first to the steam iron shop, they wanted 8 pounds, but he did it perfectly for under 2 pounds. Im very happy
IRON MAN AT WORK V/O 7: So 12 hours a day; six days a week; a crook back and very tough feet. All of which pays the equivalent of 80 (?) Australian dollars a month. No wonder perhaps that the foot-iron trade is dying out
I have a shirt ... Could I get you to iron one of my shirts, please? V/O 8: Well, why not? Amm-Rifad was offering a cheaper and vastly more entertaining method of ironing than my hotel ..
Back at the hotel, in clouds of steam, the laundry harnessed modern technology to serve the needs of hundreds of its guests. But one for the traditionalists! I would return to the back streets to honour this noble skill.
I have a shirt.(17:38) Its like a sharp knife in the hands of a butcher. The butcher knows precisely where to cut this is our profession I must tell you there are very many steam iron shops in Egypt today. None of them know what they are doing. They can iron a shirt and I can iron a shirt and you will see which is better
Though Amm-Rifad followed his father, his sons will not be carrying on the family business. Not for lack of clients, its just not what young people want to do these days.Leaving Amm-Rifad one of the last of the ironing man, to press on alone.
The speed and dexterity of these artisans can hypnotise you their wages would appal anyone and theres one shop you just cant walk past without taking a closer look.
Hes the ironing man though man of iron is probably a better title. His names Amm-Rifad (pron:refeiat) Amm meaning uncle, which after 49 years at the board - is how his customers see him. More than a job, he considers ironing with the foot an honourable art.
IRON MAN SYNCH (3:19) This is the original way this is the professional way. Steam irons are cheating. All kinds of material, thick or thin, even pure silk, can be ironed perfectly with this method
IRONING MAN AT WORK V/O 3: By some estimates there are only two or three foot-iron men still plying their trade in Cairo...offering old-fashioned methods and meticulous attention to detail.
(4:27) There are few, very few of us left. Its extremely hard and requires great energy and perseverance
Amm-Rifads irons are over a hundred years old, and weigh a ton. Around 50 kilos actually, and spit-sizzling hot.(show Rifad testing for heat)The secret is in the foot and its the foots pressure, Amm-Rifad says, which makes his work superior to any new-fangled method.
IRON MAN SYNCH (14:47) I started when I was eight I started making two or three piastres a day, but then I started making more. Up to half a pound a day, that was then half a pound was better than ten pounds today.
Always, better in the old days As an apprentice, Amm-Rifad remembers his first master was like a father to him, in a punishing kind of way
Rev Q: Did he ever beat you? Was he ever severe?(16:53) Yes, of course, of course its necessary, its important, thats the way to learn. If you dont iron the sleeve correctly down to the very end then you deserve to be beaten. He would beat me with a stick and didnt care if he injured me.
Amm-Rifads service is no sideshow his clients are local, and loyal. Like 27-year old Walid who knows value when he sees it
(40:18) Hes 100 per cent. Hes the tops. I bought this jacket 2 days ago. I took it first to the steam iron shop, they wanted 8 pounds, but he did it perfectly for under 2 pounds. Im very happy
IRON MAN AT WORK V/O 7: So 12 hours a day; six days a week; a crook back and very tough feet. All of which pays the equivalent of 80 (?) Australian dollars a month. No wonder perhaps that the foot-iron trade is dying out
I have a shirt ... Could I get you to iron one of my shirts, please? V/O 8: Well, why not? Amm-Rifad was offering a cheaper and vastly more entertaining method of ironing than my hotel ..
Back at the hotel, in clouds of steam, the laundry harnessed modern technology to serve the needs of hundreds of its guests. But one for the traditionalists! I would return to the back streets to honour this noble skill.
I have a shirt.(17:38) Its like a sharp knife in the hands of a butcher. The butcher knows precisely where to cut this is our profession I must tell you there are very many steam iron shops in Egypt today. None of them know what they are doing. They can iron a shirt and I can iron a shirt and you will see which is better
Though Amm-Rifad followed his father, his sons will not be carrying on the family business. Not for lack of clients, its just not what young people want to do these days.Leaving Amm-Rifad one of the last of the ironing man, to press on alone.