When one thinks of comfortable and luxurious bed sheets, one often thinks of high quality cotton sheets. Not just any high quality cotton sheets, however, but Egyptian cotton sheets to be more precise. Why not American Pima, Sea Island, Asiatic, or Upland cotton? After all, these other commercially grown types of cotton are also prominent and sought after. However, there is little doubt that Egyptian cotton sits atop the heap - the gold standard by which luxurious beddings and linens and comfortable clothing are measured, and probably the best known to consumers. Can it be simply marketing at its best or is there more to Egyptian cotton?
Egyptian cotton, like all other cotton, is a tropical plant and needs lots of sunshine and moderate rainfall to thrive.
Although it is not known exactly how long cotton has been used in the manufacture of cloth, what is known is that there has been a long history dating back to thousands of years where cotton had been a fabric of choice for countless generations. However, although cotton is said by some scholars to have been grown in Egypt for many centuries, the cotton that we have come to know as "Egyptian Cotton" is relatively new to Egypt and actually has its origin outside the country.
The history of what we know as Egyptian cotton dates way back to Muhammad Ali Pasha and his family who ruled Egypt for more than 147 years. Mohammad Ali, himself, ruled Egypt with an iron fist from 1805 until to 1848, and is widely credited with introducing what we know today as Egyptian cotton, to Egypt.
Prior to 1822 Egypt had native cotton but what it needed was superior quality cotton. This came in the form of a type of cotton brought to Egypt by a Frenchman, Jumel, which was called "Maho". He is said to have brought it from Ethiopia. It took a while to convince Mohammad Ali but after Jumel had a successful trial crop, Mohammad was sold on the idea and had the cotton grown all over Egypt for export to Europe. While the two varieties of North American cotton which were introduced during the nineteen century proved quite successful in bringing needed cash and helped modernized Egypt, its cotton continued its evolutionary journey. Since then other varieties have been blended with varieties of Egyptian cotton, in an effort to further improve the quality of its cotton. Egyptian cotton is now a well-established phenomenon worldwide.
Egyptian cotton, like all other cotton, is a tropical plant and needs lots of sunshine and moderate rainfall to thrive.
Although it is not known exactly how long cotton has been used in the manufacture of cloth, what is known is that there has been a long history dating back to thousands of years where cotton had been a fabric of choice for countless generations. However, although cotton is said by some scholars to have been grown in Egypt for many centuries, the cotton that we have come to know as "Egyptian Cotton" is relatively new to Egypt and actually has its origin outside the country.
The history of what we know as Egyptian cotton dates way back to Muhammad Ali Pasha and his family who ruled Egypt for more than 147 years. Mohammad Ali, himself, ruled Egypt with an iron fist from 1805 until to 1848, and is widely credited with introducing what we know today as Egyptian cotton, to Egypt.
Prior to 1822 Egypt had native cotton but what it needed was superior quality cotton. This came in the form of a type of cotton brought to Egypt by a Frenchman, Jumel, which was called "Maho". He is said to have brought it from Ethiopia. It took a while to convince Mohammad Ali but after Jumel had a successful trial crop, Mohammad was sold on the idea and had the cotton grown all over Egypt for export to Europe. While the two varieties of North American cotton which were introduced during the nineteen century proved quite successful in bringing needed cash and helped modernized Egypt, its cotton continued its evolutionary journey. Since then other varieties have been blended with varieties of Egyptian cotton, in an effort to further improve the quality of its cotton. Egyptian cotton is now a well-established phenomenon worldwide.
Ingrid Farrell is the author of this article and is also the owner of Luxurylinenandbedding.com, an online store specializing in Luxurious Bedding Linens, Bed Sheet Sets, Duvet Covers, Bed Spreads and Comforters. Luxury Linen and Bedding has transformed lives and homes with the highest quality items. Ingrid enjoys answering general questions about bed linens. Visit her at http://www.luxurylinenandbedding.com
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