Galal Gouma

Text: Nile El Wardani Photographs:George Fakhry

Above: Raouf Zaidan, at home, with his 99 years old mother, Gwendolyn Hutchings (known as Jean) Zaidan, a determined woman who came from Britain to Egypt in 1934, at the age of 18. She says of Egypt, “It was love at first sight.”

Little is unique about the components used in the art of Mohamed Khalil Mandour. They are simply water, clay, a wheel and kiln—the tools of a potter. What is excep-

tional is his use of those elements to express his ar-tistic vision, capturing an experience of perfect bal-ance and abundance within the confines of a vessel. The purpose of his art, he says, is in the impression. “The beauty of art is in its simplicity. You leave yourself and you produce.”*

Born in 1950 near the centuries-old mosque of Amr ibn al-As and raised in the al-Fawakhir (Potters) dis-trict of Fustat, the artist began his childhood with-out a father, who died before the young Mandour reached the age of one. As a child, he relished play-ing in the clay pits, returning home covered in mud. His mother, realizing the importance of knowing a trade and being from a family of potters herself, sent Mandour to become a potter’s apprentice. He learned Born in 1950 near the centuries-old mosque of Amr ibn al-As and raised in the al-Fawakhir (Pot-ters) district of Fustat, the artist began hBorn in

Above: Raouf Zaidan, at home, with his 99 years old

Above: Raouf Zaidan, at home, with his 99 years old

Above: Raouf Zaidan, at home, with his 99 years old Above: Raouf Zaidan, at home, with his 99 years old

Above: Raouf Zaidan, at home, with his 99 years old mother, Gwendolyn Hutchings (known as Jean) Zaidan, a determined woman who came from Britain to Egypt in 1934, at the age of 18. She says of Egypt, “It was love at first sight.”

Left: Photograph of George J. Zaidan, Raouf’s father, who was a chemical manufacturer.

1950 near the centuries-old mosque of Amr ibn al-As and raised in the al-Fawakhir (Potters) district of Fu-stat, the artist began his childhood without a father, who died before the young Mandour reached the age of one. As a child, he relished playing in the clay pits, returning home covered in mud. His mother, real-izing the importance of knowing a trade and being from a family of potters herself, sent Mandour to be-come a potter’s apprentice. He learned Born in 1950 near the centuries-old mosque of Amr ibn al-As and raised in the al-Fawakhir (Potters) district of Fustat, the artist began his childhood without a father, who died before the young Mandour reached the age of one. As a child, he relished playing in the clay pits, re-turning home covered in mud. His mother, realizing

Above: Raouf Zaidan, at home, with his 99 years

Above: Raouf Zaidan, at home, with his 99 years

Above: Raouf Zaidan, at home, with his 99 years

the importance of knowing a trade and being from a family of potters herself, sent Mandour to become a potter’s apprentice. He learne Fustat, the artist began his childhood without a father, who died before the young Mandour reached the age of one. As a child, he relished playing in the clay pits, returning home covered in mud. His mother, realizing the importance of knowing a trade and being from a family of pot-ters herself, sent Mandour to become a potter’s ap-prentice. He learnedcome a potter’s apprentice. He learned Born in 1950 near the centuries-old mosque of Amr ibn al-As and raised in the al-Fawakhir (Pot-ters) district of Fustat, the artist began his childhood without a father, who died before the young Man-dour reached the age of one. As a child, he relished playing in the clay pits, returning home covered in mud. His mother, realizing the importance of know-ing a trade and being from a family of potters herself, sent Mandour to become a potter’s apprentice. He learne Fustat, the artist began his childhood without a father, who died before the young Mandour reached

Above: Raouf Zaidan, at home,

Above: Raouf Zaidan, at home,

Above: Raouf Zaidan, at home, with his 99

Above: Raouf Zaidan, at home, with his 99 years old mother, Gwendolyn Hutchings

Above: Raouf Zaidan, at home, with his 99

Above: Raouf Zaidan, at home, with his 99

Above: Raouf Zaidan, at home, with his 99 years old mother, Gwendolyn Hutchings (known as Jean) Zaidan, a determined woman who came from Britain to Egypt in 1934, at the age of 18. She says of Egypt, “It

the age of one. As a child, he relished playing in the clay pits, returning home covered in mud. His moth-er, realizing the importance of knowing a trade and being from a family of potters herself, sent Mandour to become a potter’s apprentice. He learnedcome a potter’s apprentice. He learned Born in 1950 near the centuries-old mosque of Amr ibn al-As and raised in the al-Fawakhir (Potters) district of Fustat, the artist began his childhood without a father, who died be-fore the young Mandour reached the age of one. As a child, he relished playing in the clay pits, returning home covered in mud. His mother, realizing the impa father, who died before the young Mandour reached the age of one. As a child, he relished playing in the clay pits, returning home covered in mud. His moth-er, realizing the importance of knowing a trade and being from a family of potters herself, sent Mandour to become a potter’s apprentice. He learned