Wahawy ya wahawy –Ramadan soar wa hekayat, Ramadan Pictures and Stories by Yasser Katamesh, Cairo: Al-Dar Al-Masreya Al-Lubnaneya, 2011.

Yasser Katamesh’s book documenting the ambiance of Ramadan in Egypt throughout the last century has just been published, on the occasion of the holy month of fasting. The book includes nearly 150 photographs which document Ramadan from the 1920s until the 1970s.

The photographs are divided into several sections: Ramadan in the 1920s, the 1930s and 1940s, until the 1970s, and finally a section on Eid Al-Fitr (the feast after Ramadan celebrating the end of fasting). The book includes a photograph of the first fasting time-chart. It recorded sunrise and sunset every day of Ramadan, marking the beginning and end of fasting each day, drawn up at the time of Mohamed Ali. It also includes photos from the times of Khedive Abbas and Kings Fouad and Farouk.

The section on the 1960s includes an interesting model of journalism at the time, when the editor of Al-Geel magazine asked some of the celebrities about their prayers for Laylat Al-Kadr , the most blessed night of the year which happens during the last ten days of Ramadan, including prayers by Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz and Abdel-Halim Hafez the famous singer.

The photographs also include images of salesmen on the street, the cafes, an evening at the Royal Opera House and also the film, Al-Azzema, the first Ramadan film.