www.dailystar.com At 72, Ahmed Ali Ghoneim is one of Cairo's last fanous artists - proud of his tradition but watching his ancestral craft of handmade traditional Ramadan lanterns being threatened by cheap, mass-produced products from Asia.

His dimly lit, dusty workshop, stacked to the ceiling with metal scrap, has been in the heart of Islamic Cairo for half a century. The adjacent shop spills a collection of lanterns of all shapes and sizes well onto the pavement.

The ornate, multi-colored lanterns hung in front of houses across Egypt are one of the main symbols of the festive traditions of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Ahmed strives to preserve a national tradition along with the family know-how which has been passed from generation to generation.

"When my father died - he was 100 and I was 10 - I inherited his skills," says Ahmed as he hammers a malleable sheet of metal wedged against two short wooden planks.

"My eight brothers and sisters worked with me. Now my 11 children are giving me a hand when they get back from school or work. The girls paint the glass and the boys assemble the pieces," he explains.

The Ramadan lanterns were brought to Egypt by the Fatimids, who came from Tunisia in the 10th century and founded Cairo. Often made out of recycled glass and metal, they used to carry a candle and light the porches of the capital's aristocratic houses during the long Ramadan nights.

The candle has now been replaced by a lightbulb and the fanous has become a lucrative industry which opened the door to competition from abroad.

"We begin manufacturing the fawanees (plural of fanous) some three months before the start of Ramadan, when orders start coming in. Then the stock gradually sells out throughout the holy month," says the septuagenarian.

During the rest of the year he sells mouse-traps.

He admits that business has become tough since China and other Asian countries with a cheap labour force started mass-producing lanterns that now account for the vast majority of the Egyptian market.

The original spirit of the fanous may be lost on these faraway manufacturers but new types of flashing or musical lanterns are proving popular with part of the population.

"It's appalling, they're stealing my job," Ahmed grumbles.

"But I'm not giving up. Year after year, with the help of art students, I invent new models. I can make 200 different types of fawanees - Amar (moon), Shammam (melon), Borg (tower), Negma (star) - which I name after their shapes," he proudly explains.

He admits he is fighting an unequal battle. "Chinese lanterns are imported in huge quantities and their distribution networks are very effective." Ahmed's only clients are tourists - "real connoisseurs and very respectful of traditions," he says.

"My largest orders come from neighboring Arab countries, Europe and even the United States," he says. "Without these orders, I would be selling only a few dozen fawanees a year." The old craftsman explains that economic difficulties and unemployment have forced many Egyptian youths into import-export, and admits that his greatest regret is that his children have no desire to take over his dying trade.