The Egyptian Coffeehouse

Culture, Politics and Urban Space

Dalia Mostafa, Amina Elbendary

• Publisher: I.B. Tauris
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN:
  9780755635498
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780755635283
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Middle Eastern History
• Index: Social Sciences

The coffeehouse is a microcosm of the larger Egyptian society with its history of multiculturalism and great diversity. It is not only a social space which was created and shaped by the people over decades in their streets, neighbourhoods and cities, but it also occupies a sphere in the popular imagination full of stories, memories and social networks. Despite the coffeehouse's cultural centrality and socio-political importance in Egypt, academic research and publications on its significance remain sparse. This volume aims to fill this gap by presenting, for the first time in English, a full study analysing the importance of the coffeehouse as an urban phenomenon, with its cultural, historical, economic and political significance in contemporary Egyptian society. The volume shows how historically the coffeehouse has always played a key role as a commercial enterprise; and culturally, as a place for rich literary and artistic production which has multi-layered representations in Egyptian novels, cinema and popular music, amongst other genres. Economically, the coffeehouse has been vital for accessing job opportunities, especially for informal workers; in addition to having played a crucial role in political mobilisation during decisive historical events, as well as in recent years during the 2011 revolution and its aftermath. Through extended interviews with six residents in Cairo, the authors further examine the role and influence of the coffeehouse as a significant feature of contemporary Egyptian life and urban landscape.

1

The Egyptian coffeehouse and urban space

Introduction

A place for socialization and entertainment, the coffeehouse has long been associated with popular communal gatherings in both urban and rural Egypt. The coffeehouse is a social space which was created and shaped over the decades by the people themselves in their neighbourhoods, and on the cities’ squares and streets. It is a microcosm of the larger Egyptian society with its history of multiculturalism and great diversity. In a sense, the Egyptian coffeehouse subverts archaic forms of institutionalization and social exclusion. Hence, it has occupied in the popular imagination a sphere that is replete with new ideas, stories, memories and social networks. It is no surprise then that representations of the coffeehouse have taken countless forms in Egyptian literary works, films, songs, photographs, radio and television programmes and drama shows. Historically, the coffeehouse has also played a key role in political mobilization, as well as being a place where the unemployed could access job opportunities through meeting potential employers. Despite the coffeehouse’s cultural centrality and sociopolitical importance in Egypt, academic research and publications on its significance remain sparse.

This volume aims to fill this academic gap through analysing, for the first time in a full study in English, the importance of the coffeehouse as an urban phenomenon which has cultural, historical, economic and political implications in the contemporary Egyptian society especially in the aftermath of the 25 January 2011 revolution. The main objectives of the volume can be summarized as follows: to theorize and unpack the role and influence of the coffeehouse as a significant feature of contemporary Egyptian life and social relationships; to illustrate the ways in which the coffeehouse has been depicted in the Egyptian cultural field, particularly in literature, cinema and song; to study the political, spatial and economic dynamics of the coffeehouse as an integral public space in the life of Egyptians; to demonstrate through highlighting specific examples of traditional coffeehouses in Cairo and Alexandria the various roles they play in these cities; and finally to offer some indicative public views of the coffeehouse’s role through open-ended interviews with six residents of Cairo.

In Egypt, there are two widespread types of the coffeehouse (or ahwa as pronounced in the Egyptian vernacular): the first is the ahwa baladi (the traditional café/coffeeshop) which is found in almost every neighbourhood across the country and usually dominated by men’s presence. The second type is the historical-cultural coffeehouse such as al-Fishawi in al-Hussein area in Islamic Cairo or the Naguib Mahfouz coffeehouse also in al-Hussein; or the well-known Café Riche on Talaat Harb Street in downtown Cairo; or al-Horriyya coffeehouse in Bab al-Louq (off Tahrir Square); or the multiple European-style coffeehouses in Alexandria’s downtown Raml area (e.g. Trianon, Delice and Elite). This latter type of the historical-cultural coffeehouse is open for both men and women of different backgrounds and age groups. The contrast in the history and architecture of coffeehouses such as al-Fishawi, on the one hand, and Café Riche on the other, cannot be more fascinating as an indicator of the richness of the multifaceted architectural history of Egyptian cities. While al-Fishawi is immersed in Islamic Cairo (the old city) with its notable bazaar culture and spiritual ambience, Café Riche was founded in the early years of the twentieth century during the colonial era in the modern quarter of khedival Cairo (the new city), inspired by European architecture. The photographs which are included in this volume display some of these historical and architectural differences which are perceived in themselves as key signifiers of cosmopolitan culture in Egypt.

Indeed, the Egyptian coffeehouse best captures Henri Lefebvre’s notion of ‘social space’. In his seminal work The Production of Space, Lefebvre argues that social space is ‘what permits fresh actions to occur, while suggesting others and prohibiting yet others. … Social space implies a great diversity of knowledge.’¹ Social space also embodies political acts. Lefebvre explains that when we discuss space we must also consider what or who occupies this space, interrelationships and the activities that take place within it during a timeframe. For him, space considered in isolation of ‘time’ and ‘energy’ resembles ‘an empty abstraction’.² Furthermore, David Harvey has remarked that ‘what we do as well as what we understand is integrally dependent upon the primary spatio-temporal frame within which we situate ourselves.’³ He states that in Lefebvre’s work, urbanisation and the production of space are interlinked.⁴ He adds: ‘Particularly through the events of 1968, Lefebvre came to recognise the significance of urban conditions of daily life (as opposed to narrow concentration on work-place politics) as central in the evolution of revolutionary sentiments and politics.’⁵ In this context, the Egyptian coffeehouse can be seen as a space where social relations are produced and developed over periods of time; hence this space plays a crucial role in formulating such concepts as identity and affect, and indeed has the potential to serve in mobilizing for political and social movements as the following chapters will demonstrate. According to Lefebvre, ‘Groups, classes or factions of classes cannot constitute themselves, or recognize one another, as “subjects” unless they generate (or produce) a space.’⁶

Since the turn of the twenty-first century, there has been an increasing proliferation in Egyptian cities, particularly in middle- and upper-class suburbs, of famous global coffeeshop chains such as Starbucks and Costa, and other local chains/brands such as Cilantro and Beano’s that emulate the global ones. These act as markers of class and distinguish their customers and social ambience from those of both the ahwa baladi (traditional café) and the historical-cultural coffeehouses. These new coffeeshop chains are more popular among the younger population and can also be found in large shopping malls and five-star hotels.⁷ Needless to say, some people frequent different coffeeshops on various occasions, possibly having more than one favourite type of café space. In this volume, the focus will be on two types of coffeehouses: the traditional ahwa (or café/coffeeshop); and the historical-cultural coffeehouse, as opposed to the Westernized/modern chains of coffeeshops. Yet, we will draw some comparisons between the traditional coffeehouses and the modern coffeeshops in order to explore ideas related to gender and class dynamics. The reader will also find informed reflections on these different café cultures, particularly in regard to the traditional ahwa, through the testimonies of our interviewees in Chapter 7.

Spending time at the coffeehouse is an everyday Egyptian social practice which sheds light on notions of belonging and identity formations, as well as gender and class relations. This practice also illuminates our understanding of Egyptian city life. As David Harvey has argued (based on his reading of the sociologist Robert Park’s work), ‘the kind of cities we want to live in cannot be divorced from what kind of people we want to be or what kind of humanity we want to create.’⁸ We build the kind of cities we want to live in, and in turn cities shape our collective identity. One characteristic which defines the Egyptian urban space is the ahwa baladi, hence it has occupied a signifying dimension in the popular imagination. It is a place which encompasses many things simultaneously: socialization, entertainment, a support network, consolidation of friendships, in addition to being a place for cultural debates and political mobilization. On the other hand, it has a ‘sinister’ aspect that is widely known among customers: informers and spies who work for the police and security apparatus also inhabit the coffeehouse so as to report on dissenting political activists and opposition figures.

Choosing the type of coffeehouse to frequent can be an indicator of gender dynamics. Mark Allen Peterson provides an interesting discussion about traditional and Westernized cafés in different areas in Cairo, particularly those which cater for middle- and upper-class customers. As he remarks, ‘Coffee houses of different kinds are sites of gender performance, places where particular kinds of masculinity and femininity are constructed.’⁹ This can be seen clearly when visiting a traditional ahwa baladi in a popular suburb in an Egyptian city where we find it inhabited mainly by men smoking shisha, in a striking contrast to the modern coffeeshops such as Cilantro or Retro where women feel at ease mingling with friends or even spending time on their own. Peterson describes these modern coffeeshops as ‘translocal places’ where one is able to ‘construct a cosmopolitan identity’.¹⁰ He defines this state as ‘being able to afford entry into such a space and by being comfortable in it – that is, knowing one’s place in the world’.¹¹

Peterson also expands the discussion on how groups of men, even from the upper classes, gather in the ahwa baladi to assert their masculine attitudes and behaviours, whereas they feel reluctant to do so in the modern coffeeshops while in the company of female friends. Through various interviews and conversations with male friends, Peterson concludes that Cairene coffeehouses and coffeeshops are important sites to observe and understand gender and class relations. Yet, we can add here that some of these characteristics described by Peterson have remarkably changed in opening the traditional ahwa baladi to female customers in the aftermath of the 2011 Egyptian revolution, particularly in Cairo’s downtown area around Tahrir Square.

In the following chapters, we will analyse the significant ways in which these gendered identities are represented in a selection of literary and cinematic works, especially how women can be seen in some films owning and managing coffeehouses and traditional cafés in both popular and middle-class neighbourhoods. We also aim to shed light on several artistic works produced in recent years which point to a renewed interest in the theme of ‘coffee’ and ‘coffeehouse’.

In addition to the large repertoire of representations which permeate Egyptian films of the ahwa baladi, we have been able to depict a number of songs which were produced post-2011 and have addressed the ‘coffeehouse’ as a main theme. These include Islam Ali’s song ‘Qahwa baladi’;¹² and Haidy’s song ‘Ahwa baladi’,¹³ which is a play on the Arabic verb ‘ahwa’ (I love).¹⁴ The well-known singer Hamza Namira also performed a song entitled ‘3alahwa’ (At the café) for the radio channel Nogoum FM.¹⁵ Moreover, an initiative entitled ‘El qahwa baladi’ began in Port Sa‘id city in 2013 by a group of artists who aimed to revive the role of the coffeehouse in Egyptian cultural life by organizing a variety of performances, poetry readings and cultural debates at the city’s coffeehouses.¹⁶ It is also interesting to note that BBC Radio 3 broadcasted a programme entitled ‘Stirring up a revolution’ by Tarek Osman in June 2013.¹⁷ In it, Osman interviews a number of artists and writers, most notably the veteran novelist Ibrahim Abdel Meguid, and discusses with them the prominence of the coffeehouse in Egyptian cultural life. Furthermore, during the first year of the 2011 revolution, a group of friends started an initiative entitled ‘There is no shame in work’, where each of them worked for one day in a profession they never did before, one of these was to be a qahwagi (tea/coffee maker) at a traditional café in the city.¹⁸

The neoliberal city’s ahawi (cafés) and limitations of public space

In attempting to situate the expansion of outdoor ahawi (cafés – vernacular Egyptian plural for ahwa) in Cairo and other large Egyptian cities such as Alexandria and Port Sa‘id, it is key to engage what scholar Asef Bayat refers to as ‘the city-inside-out’.¹⁹ Bayat suggests that ne...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title Page
• Title Page
• Contents
• Illustrations
• Acknowledgements
• 1 The Egyptian coffeehouse and urban space
• 2 Betwixt and between: The arrival of coffeeshops in Cairo as an urban phenomenon
• 3 Locating the ahwa (café) in the work of Egyptian writers
• 4 The case of Naguib Mahfouz: Storyteller of the Egyptian coffeehouse
• 5 Multilayered representations of the coffeehouse in Egyptian cinema
• 6 Egyptian singers and performers: An integral relation to the coffeehouse
• 7 Pictures, voices and narratives of coffeehouses
• 8 Conclusion: The Egyptian coffeehouse as a marker of collective identity
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• Plates Section
• Copyright Page