Every time we take a trip to Alexandria, my favorite city on the Mediterranean, I can't resist the temptation to visit " Sook El Attareen", the Antiques' market. It's said that this market has been around since the times of the "Mamlouks" , somehow I get magnetically drawn into it's small alleys and dark little shops with all it's mysteries, memories and long lost stories. Some of the antiques date back to the time of the 19th Century, from the European invasion of the Ottomans, some left behind by foreigners who left the country after the 23rd of July revolution and some their sources will remain to this day,unknown .
As I walk around this time, I know exactly what I'm looking
for....I've been dreaming of some old rusty cutlery to use as props for my food pictures for quite some time now. I'm not sure if it's the combination of old cutlery with the new shiny china I just bought, or the mystery that I think the pieces will add to the picture, or just
simply following the
recent trend of adding an old looking prop into a simple modern looking set; I just knew I had to find some and I knew exactly where to look.It took me about an hour, and finally I had my mind set, I had found what I was looking for. On top of the cutlery, I had also found a couple of beautiful tiny vases and an ornamental colorful rusty tray, perfect !
As we drove back to the busy loud polluted city we call home; Cairo, the serenity and beauty of Alexandria gradually fading away, I couldn't stop myself from drawing sketches of sets in my head of how I was going to use my latest finds.
So expect to see some old but gorgeous worn out little pieces in my next group of food shots, and think " oh, I know the story behind
that knife !"
See you very soon ,
