Dear Blog Guy,
What do you suppose life would be like without television?
What would we do with our time, if we didnt have Americas Next Top Model and Veronica Mars and stuff like that?
Curious
Well, Curious, I think we would spend our time cultivating grotesque growths.
We might even invent a club called The Union of Distinctive Egyptian Moustaches.
Even in the sprawling Cairo suburb of Mattariyya, it is hard to miss the members of an exclusive club for the men who boast the longest moustaches in Egypt. Last week, the leading members of the Union of Distinctive Egyptian Moustaches gathered at their headquarters, the home of the club's head, Hagg Fathi Ahmed Mahmoud, for their annual meeting on his birthday. In a country where a man's facial hair can be considered a sign of machismo, and sometimes religious identity, the owners of Egypt's most extraordinary moustaches take their achievement with a great deal of pride as well as no small measure of levity. As they sat in Hagg Fathi's salon, amidst his various trophies from moustache competitions and the numerous newspaper articles framed on his wall, they reminisced about the notoriety that comes with their prized, and extremely well maintained moustaches. "Every year we do this, we have a group like this or maybe double the number, a celebration for the birthday of the head of the distinguished Moustache Union [clapping]. And then we follow it with another celebration for the establishment of the society. And we do this every year," said Hagg Fathi. It's been nearly 20 years since the union was founded in 1987, with the noble aim of not only celebrating unusually large moustaches, but also using the amusement that greets it to solve disputes. The 148 members of the union offer their services as social workers and freelance problem solvers, for example undertaking missions to the south of Egypt to solve some of the family feuds and vendettas for which the region is notorious. The long moustache may be a sign of manliness, but it also breaks the ice and lends a certain charisma to its owner that allows him to break down hostility. "The moustache has a lot of meanings. Firstly, the one who bears the moustache is a symbol of bravery and manliness," says Hagg Fathi. There is something of a burden that comes with belonging to this exclusive club as well, albeit a welcome one. The members all complain that they are stopped constantly in the street, either by amused or curious passers-by, often children, or, to their wives' obvious displeasure, by girls awed by their extraordinary moustache, and wanting to take a picture with them. But standing out also has its advantages in Egypt. In a country mired in corruption and where getting even the simplest things done often requires connections [Kosa], the members of the extraordinary moustache club often find their curious appearance opens doors that otherwise might be nailed shut. "Just the existence of this moustache creates a relationship with many people I could not otherwise meet. It creates a strong relationship with people. This is the best thing. And another good thing is that I see many people laugh in the streets, women, girls, men," says member Essam Saadeddin. One member, for example, boasts that he once had a certain problem that required help from the highest levels to be solved, so he simply turned up at a government minister's office, announced that the "King of Moustaches" wanted a meeting with him, and found himself ushered in for a tet-a-tet with the curious minister. The problem was solved. Alam Abdul Halim also testifies to the extraordinary power of the moustache. "The moustache makes good relationships it doesn't create problems," he said. The club's president, Hagg Fathi, who works as a taxi driver during the day, also holds another birthday party on December 21 -- for his moustache. This year Hagg Fathi's moustache turns 31. Those thirty one years have seen Hagg Fathi and the other members profiled in countless news stories for their well coifed moustaches. Gazing at the mementoes on his wall, Fathi reminisces about one of his finer hours, besting a room of long moustache hopefuls at a competition, simply by walking into the room. "I entered a competition for the weirdest moustache, and all of the participants when they saw me they withdrew. In 1985," he said. Maintaining such a long moustache is by no means cheap. Every night before he goes to sleep, for example, Hagg Fathi washes his moustache with soap and water and polishes it with organic oils. He then washes it with shampoo and balsam. The whole process costs around 300 Egyptian pounds ($52.5 USD) a month, a hefty sum by Egyptian standards. Whatever the financial costs and other burdens that go along with belonging to this exclusive club, they are a small price to pay for the fame that goes with it. If nothing else, the members of the Union of Distinctive Egyptian Moustaches have been able to lighten the hearts of their often put-upon countrymen.
http://www.blinkx.com/video/egypt-the-union-of-distinctive-egyptian-moustaches-holds-its-annual-meeting/Bg5FBQOmSPgz3jaNSd5iOA
