SAMUEL McNEIL Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — In the shadow of Cairo’s medieval aqueduct, Mohamed Mustafa teaches his 5-year-old son…
APTOPIX Mideast Egypt Donkey Barber Photo Essay In this Saturday, March 8, 2014 photo, Mustafa Mohamed, 5, reaches to trim a horse at his father's makeshift animal barber shop in Cairo, Egypt. The boy's father is one of Cairo's donkey barbers, a unique trade in the region, an expert in trimming and styling horses, camels, mules, sheep, goats, dogs and donkeys. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo
Mideast Egypt Donkey Barber Photo Essay Mohamed Mustafa, left, takes a break with his son Mustafa, center, and a horse owner and his son at his makeshift animal barber shop in the shadow of the medieval aqueduct in Cairo, Egypt. Mohamed charges between 20 and 30 Egyptian pounds ($3-5) per customer, with each taking him less than 30 minutes to finish, depending on the order, and the animal's sensitivities. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo
Mideast Egypt Donkey Barber Photo Essay In this Saturday, March 8, 2014 photo, Mohamed Mustafa, center, trims the hair of a horse as his five year-old son, Mustafa pulls on its tail, in Cairo, Egypt. "My grandfather began the trade, but my father and uncles were barbers too. My father taught me and I am teaching my son," Mohamed said. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo
Mideast Egypt Donkey Barber Photo Essay In this Saturday, March 8, 2014 photo, a man who sells plastic housewares from the back of a donkey cart leads his donkey to a makeshift barbershop for a haircut by donkey barber Mohamed Mustafa and his five year-old son, Mustafa, right, in Cairo, Egypt. "People love us because they trust the quality of work that is the same between us. They loved my father, and my work is like my father's work," Mohamed said. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo
Mideast Egypt Donkey Barber Photo Essay Animal barber Mohamed Mustafa works on a donkey as his children play nearby his makeshift shop in the shadow of the medieval aqueduct in Cairo, Egypt. "There are a lot of other people who do this job. But he [Mohamed] is gentle - and his prices are gentle too," says customer Rahman Ibrahim. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo
Mideast Egypt Donkey Barber Photo Essay A donkey takes a break from his day job pulling a cart carrying plastic household items as he waits for a haircut from Mohamed Mustafa, a qassass, or animal barber, at a makeshift barbershop in the shadow of the medieval aqueduct in Cairo, Egypt. Mohamed charges between 20 and 30 Egyptian pounds ($3-5) per customer, with each taking him less than 30 minutes to finish, depending on the order, and the animal's sensitivities. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo
Mideast Egypt Donkey Barber Photo Essay Mohamed Mustafa trims the hair of a donkey at a makeshift animal barber shop in Cairo, Egypt. "My grandfather began the trade, but my father and uncles were barbers too," Mohamed said. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo
Mideast Egypt Donkey Barber Photo Essay Mohamed Mustafa trims the hair on a donkey's tail at his makeshift shop in the shadow of the medieval aqueduct in Cairo, Egypt. Mohamed says he is the third generation of qassasseen, or animal barbers. His grandfather worked in Cairo's Abdeen Palace, and he is training his 5-year-old son, Mustafa, in the tools of the trade. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo
Mideast Egypt Donkey Barber Photo Essay Animal barber Mohamed Mustafa shaves a customer's initials onto the rump of a donkey in Cairo, Egypt. Clients typically request for regular trims to keep animals cool in the summer, initials in English letters, and patterns—but sometimes they give Mohamed full creative license. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
CAIRO (AP) — In the shadow of Cairo’s medieval aqueduct, Mohamed Mustafa teaches his 5-year-old son the family’s trade, one shear at a time.
Mohamed is one of Cairo’s donkey barbers, an expert in trimming and styling horses, camels, mules, sheep, goats, dogs and donkeys. He is a third-generation qassasseen, the Egyptian Arabic term for animal barbers, and his grandfather worked in Cairo’s Abdeen Palace.
Mohamed’s father, Mahmoud, taught him the trade and now, near Old Cairo along the road following the aqueduct, he teaches the craft to his son Mustafa.
It is a profession often looked down upon in Egyptian society, as he works with the beasts of burden that still roam modern Cairo’s streets, pulling carts filled with vegetables or loads of trash from neighborhoods. But workers rely on the animals and take pride in them, getting them haircuts or having their fur shaved with designs or their initials ahead of major holidays.
“There are a lot of other people who do this job. But he (Mohamed) is gentle — and his prices are gentle too,” says Abdulrahman Ibrahim, a cart driver who stopped by Mohamed’s outdoor shop to get his horse’s monthly trim.
Mohamed charges between 20 and 30 Egyptian pounds ($3 to $5) per customer, with each appointment taking him less than 30 minutes to finish — depending on the order, and the animal’s sensitivities.
“All the horses are clever — in fact all the donkeys, cows and dogs are clever. Without a doubt, dogs will slip out from under you,” he says.
But the work is dangerous. Later in his family’s one-room home, Mohamed traces to a scar across his right jaw with a finger missing its first joint.
“One horse bit my finger off, another horse hit me here,” Mohamed says, pointing to a scar on his jaw visible through a thick beard. He says a dentist told him he might lose most of his lower teeth soon.
Despite that, Mohamed takes pride in his work.
“People love us because they trust the quality of work between us,” he says. “They loved my father, and my work is like my father’s work.”
Here are a series of images by Maya Alleruzzo, Middle East regional photo editor for The Associated Press, showing the donkey barber’s daily work.
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