In his doctorate on papyrus, Ragab explains that Egyptians stopped using the tall water plant around the 10th century when the invading Arabs introduced the simpler Chinese method of making paper by spreading a pulp of flax or other fibers evenly over a rectangular mold. Papyrus paper requires a more lengthy process. First, the outer green layer of the stalk is stripped away and the inner pith is cut into slices and soaked for a few days in water. Then the soft, spongy tissue is rolled flat and left to dry. After three or four days, the strips meld into a sheet, creating a piece of paper fit for a pharaoh.
People have no idea of the work and skill needed.
The quality of papyrus varies from resilient paper of a uniform color to a brittle, multitoned patchwork. The art, too, ranges from stock prints with dull coloring to delicate hand-painted creations that give detailed attention to even the smallest feather on the dress of an Egyptian goddess. Tourists can find papyrus bearing cartouches with hieroglyphs, scarabs or King Tut's famous funeral mask. But most papyrus paintings are copies of reliefs painted thousands of years ago on the walls of the pharaohs' tombs. Papyrus is also made into stationery, coasters, calendars and bookmarks.