The story started a long time ago, before the Melkonian and Matossian brothers. It begins with Nestor Gianaclis, the founder of the industry, a Greek who arrived in Egypt in 1864 and 1871 and established a factory in the Khairy Pasha palace in Cairo. After the British troops began being stationed in Egypt in 1882, British officers developed a taste for Egyptian cigarettes, and they were soon being exported to the United Kingdom. Gianaclis and other Greek industrialists such as Ioannis Kyriazis of Kyriazi frères successfully produced and exported cigarettes using imported Turkish tobacco to meet the growing world demand for cigarettes in the closing decades of the nineteenth century

Egyptian cigarettes made by Gianaclis and others became so popular in Europe and the United States that they inspired a large number of what were, in effect, locally-produced counterfeits. Among these was the American Camel brand, established in 1913, which used on its packet three Egyptian motifs: the camel, the pyramids, and a palm tree. Tastes in Europe and the United States shifted away from Turkish tobacco and Egyptian cigarettes towards Virginia tobacco, during and after the First World War

Melkonian Tobacco Manufacturers

The Egyptian Armenian Melkonian brothers’ earliest factories were located in Zagazig circa 1883/1884 and Faiyoum 1888. Later, they opened their factories in Alexandria, Aswan and Cairo. They were one of the biggest Armenian cigarette companies in Egypt. Like all Armenian tobacco manufacturers, Melkonian differed from the international and Greek cigarette manufacturers because they focused on tobacco for the domestic market within Egypt and Sudan

Matossian Brothers of Tokat

They founded Egypt’s largest tobacco factory, and 70,000 Armenians worked at the Matossian Tobacco factories. Between 1895-1896, 90% of Egypt’s cigarette production bore the trademark of Armenian-owned factories. In the first quarter of the 20th century, the Armenian tobacco industry expanded to such an extent that it dominated the markets of Egypt and Sudan, becoming the chief supplier of Ethiopia’s capital, Adis-Ababa, and other cities

Neshan and Hapet -The Hadjetian brothers

Their cigarette factory was founded in 1896 through the efforts of Neshan. Later, they also opened a shop in the prestigious district of Azbakiyya. In addition to selling their cigarettes, The Hadjetians also imported a variety of European cigars and Persian “tembek” to be sold in their store

The company, which preceded the Matossian Brothers in Egypt, also had a European branch in Athens, Greece. The Hadjetian company produced the most famous cigarettes for the Egyptian Royal Family, called “Anbar”, which was also the brand specifically made for then Sultan Fouad before he became King Fouad of Egypt”

1952 Revolution and Nationalization program

What remained of the Greek-run tobacco industry in Egypt was nationalized after the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. Egyptian-made cigarettes were sold only locally and became known for their poor quality (and low price). Of all the many foreign imitations of Egyptian cigarettes, only Camel survived the rest of the twentieth century

The 1961 nationalization program of President Gamal Abdel Nasser affected the Armenian community, the majority of which was engaged in the private sector. The size of the community shrank during that period, but not all felt compelled to leave, choosing instead to adapt to the new landscape. There was Joseph Matossian, then the chairman of Egypt’s Chamber of Tobacco