CAIRO: Celebrates the holy Islamic month of Ramadan with a new special charm after the January 25 Revolution. Egyptian lantern makers create lanterns with themes of the January 25 Revolution and martyrs to decorate houses, streets and buildings. Egyptian lanterns were brought into the market in ancient Egypt consisting of colored metal and glass decorations of Islamic graphics. It was lit by a candle but today, a small flashbulb could be used. The lanterns have slogans written on them, like “January 25 Revolution,” “Egypt is our country by blood and soul,” and “Security and Freedom.” Some lanterns are also painted with Egyptian flag's colors. One of lantern makers, Mohamed Ramadan, said most Egyptian customers buy the Egyptian lanterns. Ramadan said one of martyrs' father gave Ramadan his son's photo to be printed on a lantern. The father also requested to print all his sons pictures on each side of the lantern. Ramadan said the cost of a lantern with candles range, starting at 8 EGP (U.S $1.3) to 700 EGP (U.S. $117.5). A salesman of Chinese-produced lanterns, Ayman Abdel Salam, said the shapes of Chinese lanterns did not change very much, so the rate of sales is not very high. Prices of Chinese lanterns started from15 EGP (U.S. $2.5) to 50 EGP (U.S. $8.4).
