Makuaghi

Ironing is an art form in the back alleys in Cairo. Exclusively carried out by men, it provides a valuable social service. The makuaghi, which is the guy who irons, can either have a space big enough for him and his ironing board facing a dusty street or a real shop with windows and a dry clean machine and a couple of boards. The makuaghi is well organized: gets to know the needs of his clients, he can even send someone to your place to pick the makua (the clothes that need to be ironed) up and deliver it back. Sometimes on the street you can meet kids packed with shirts, jackets and pants. Sometimes the ironed stuff too big or heavy for them and they end up dragging it on the dusty pavement. Competition is strong: it seems that there are 11,255 makuaghi in Cairo.
When we were about to choose OUR makuaghi, my fear was about something that I saw in Khan El Khalili: guys who seem to gulp half a glass of water and after a few seconds simply spit on the clothes they are ironing to dampen them and iron them better.
Our makuaghi is different. Has a small shop with windows and plants outside, wraps shirts in plastic bags and even dry cleans our jumpers!