Handmade shoe stores in Amman witnessed their “golden age” in the eighties and nineties of the last century, recalls the head of the Shoe Manufacturers Association, Nasr Al Thiabat. “I have a customer who has been coming to me for fifty years, so how can I leave this craft?” But the store is holding up thanks to its loyal customers. “We remained committed to our traditions, our passion, and our determination to continue this work, which does not provide enough income,” with rising rents and the high cost of living, Al-Qibti says. In his shop, on the shelves of hundreds of dusty shoe molds, the smell of leather wafts. The Coptic was importing leather from France, Italy and Germany.
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However, only ten of the Copt’s customers, who used to make 200 pairs of shoes per day, remain today, which prompted him to make medical and children’s shoes.
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It is reported that the king, General de Gaulle, asked him about the source of his shoes, and the king told him, according to the Coptic, “From us, this is Oman’s job,” adding, “This is how the king recommended me to make two shoes for de Gaulle as a gift, and I remember that the size was large.”Īl-Qibti asserts that he also made shoes for the current king and for most of the princes and princesses in Jordan, prime ministers, ministers, representatives, dignitaries and military leaders, adding, “We had a great reputation in the country, and everyone simply wanted to own handmade shoes.” Al-Qobti added that King Hussein summoned him once in 1964, after returning from a visit to France, during which he met French President Charles de Gaulle at the time.