The Owner of One Million Pencil

In the middle of Souq Al Saray stands a small, modest shop but it has become one of the market’s most notable stops and one of the places that attract the most visitors. The owner of this shop is Ali Al Mandlawi, who is famous for owning a massive collection of wooden coloring pencils, numbering nearly one million, which he has passionately collected since 1985.

Inside his shop, only a small sample of this enormous collection is displayed on the wall, while he keeps the rest of the pencils he has accumulated over decades of searching and acquiring. Ali recounts that during certain difficult periods, he would borrow money just to buy the pencils he loved, until they became an inseparable part of his identity and daily life.

The shop owner says that the simple pencil he holds in his hand is the one thing that brings people of all backgrounds together. Lawyers, engineers, doctors, government employees, and even illiterate individuals who buy pencils for their children all come to his shop to purchase writing and drawing tools.

Al Mandlawi is no longer just a local phenomenon; tourists from different countries now visit him to hear his story with pencils and to discover the secret of the passion that turned a small shop into one of the cultural landmarks of Souq Al Saray.