Egypt is known as the oldest civilization in the world, including the oldest method to produce paper that is still used. This method uses papyrus bark as raw material. When I visited Giza, a small town near Cairo, fortunately, I visited one of the papyrus workshops that still uses that technology.
When I came to the workshop, I saw many products using papyrus paper. Calligraphy, painting, and others all use that traditional paper. And there is a guy who told us about the process to produce papyrus paper.
Papyrus trees have triangular-shaped trunks, green, tall with a flower on the top that looks like strands. To make a piece of papyrus paper, first, we have to cut and peel the skin of the papyrus bark, according to the size of the paper we want to make. Why do they only use papyrus bark to make paper? Because the papyrus bark is very flexible and also strong. Unlike its bark, the pulp of the papyrus tree is very brittle and inflexible. After the papyrus bark is cut according to paper size, it will be beaten using a hammer and ground until thin.
After that, we will get a thin slice of papyrus paper, and then we have to arrange every piece of that thin slice to the paper size want to make and put that into to press machine. In that workshop, I saw a traditional press machine consisting of 2 heavy pieces. The papyrus paper was put on the surface of first piece and closed with others for 1-2 weeks more.
After 1-2 weeks in the press machine, we will get a piece of thin papyrus paper. How to make it different from the original papyrus paper to others? When we place the original papyrus paper on the light, we will see the fibers in a different color because of the sugar ingredient in its pieces. Then, papyrus paper is ready to use.
We can use pencil, pen, or other writing tools to write on. But how if we make mistakes when we write? It’s so simple, just put the water on the mistaken part, using a piece of papyrus tree to swipe smoothly, and you will get the wrong part clear.
The workshop produces some paintings and calligraphy on papyrus paper using glow-in-the-dark ink. So, if we turn the light off, the calligraphy and the painting will be light on.
