A crowded souq area in Old Cairo contains all sorts of treasures. This young gentleman with the cart is selling loofah. These will be used for scrubbing everything from bodies to dishes, as they are the biodegradable version of steel wool. The loofah are the insides of a vegetable that look much like zucchini but are borne on a climbing vine that has lovely yellow flowers on it earlier in the season. The flowers become gourd-like fruit that are allowed to dry to give the fibrous interior framework that is the loofah.
Monday, April 14, 2008
The Loofah Man
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
5 comments:
Ooh, such nice big ones. I think loofa and sea sponges are fascinating--and most pleasant to shower with. But here it is getting harder and harder to find such natural things.
How interesting this story is about the Loofah. I had never heard of it before.
this is a great photo.
We have such loofah on sale too. I use them for washing dishes and they are much comfortable to use than a sponge.
J.C. of Subang Jaya Daily Photo
I've been using natural loofah for years, and never knew its origin. Thank you for the explanation.
Synthetic loofah is now popular, but tough on the skin, and doesn't seem to rinse out clean and limp like natural loofah.
Post a Comment