Lebanese craftsman keeps up tradition of tarboosh hat-making

Tripoli, Lebanon: Nestled among shops in a bustling market in north Lebanon s Tripoli, Mohammed al Shaar is at his workshop making traditional tarboos...

Tripoli, Lebanon: Nestled among shops in a bustling market in north Lebanon's Tripoli, Mohammed al-Shaar is at his workshop making traditional tarboosh hats, keeping up a family craft despite dwindling demand.

With a thimble on one finger, Shaar, 38, cuts, sews and carefully assembles the pieces of the conical, flat-topped felt hat also known as a fez, attaching a tassel to the top.

Reputedly the last tarboosh craftsman in Lebanon, the Tripoli native has been making the hats for 25 years in know-how passed on by his grandfather.

"Our family has been carrying on this craft for 125 years," said Shaar, who also studied tarboosh making in Egypt.