The sun'll come out tomorrow

Bet your bottom dollar...
In Egypt you've got a 99.999 percent chance of sunshine the next day.
Fabulous weather. Great sunshine to lift the spirits year round.

source: onthegotours.com

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Youth Power

I moved to Egypt after living in Europe for over half a decade. One of the most striking differences (and indeed, there were many) was in the age difference. In Egypt, I think a baby is born every 2 seconds or something incredible like this. Young people abound, energetic, hopeful, full of change, and very different from their parent's generation. That was how I felt when I first came here 10 years ago, and that feeling just grows with time. There is incredible talent and brain power in this region, let us hope the youth will have a chance to put it to good use and improve their own lives and the lives of those around them.

Umm Khultum as a Cultural Bridge?

As I was writing my previous blog post, I came across the following fantastic article about Umm Khultum on the Huffington post, wherein the author describes the richness of Umm Kulthum's contribution to Arab (and world) culture. The "Nightingale of the East", Umm Kulthum gave the world "magic", "ecstasy", "feminine consciousness", and was a paradigmatic example of "the central artistic reality that has animated the Arab world for many centuries".

The author argues that her music can serve as a launchpad for dialogue between Arabs and Israelis - with emphasis on the common cultural traditions of Sephardic Jewry who originated from the Arab world. He goes so far as to suggest that anyone seriously interested in the middle east peace process is not seeing the full picture unless they familiarize themselves better with the rich cultural landscape of which Umm Khultum was invariably a magical and magnificent ingredient.

Read the article here:
Huffington Post: The Voice of Um Kulthum: A Place to Start the Dialogue

Enta Omri performed by Umm Khultum

There is too much to say about Umm Khultum to limit her to a single post in the Fabulous things about Egypt, so I will just start here with Enta Omri, one of her most famous songs and the first she performed written by Abdel Wahab.

There is something so emotional that just resonates so deeply with the listener, as if a piece of your own heart is being unfolded in front of you. But enough talk... let's listen,

Fabulous Stuffed Eggplant

Fabulous eggplant features prominently in a lot of Egyptian meals. These lovely hors d'oeuvres are made from these small thin plum eggplants sliced down the middle, stewed in vinegar (somehow - don't ask me details of the mysterious art of cooking) and stuffed with pungent garlic, hot green pepper, olive oil maybe tomatoes as well and some other mystery spices the chef who made this particular plate magically added.
Bon appetit!

Termis (Lupinis)

Just love eating these little salty guys. In Egypt they call these legumes Termis. I've read about them elsewhere as being called Lupinis. And have found some scientific papers referring to them as Lupinus Termis.

Whatever you want to call them. I love them. The first time I ate them was not in Egypt actually, but in Jordan, but they are as popular here in Egypt as they were there. Fabulous. High in protein (see my post on veganism in Middle East) and high in calcium and phosphorus. Overall, a great healthy snack food.

A man sitting under a wide umbrella in front of a mosque,
selling cups of Termis (with lemon) and peanuts

Selling paper tubes of Termis in front of another mosque

Belly Dance

When people think about belly dance - usually a sequined open bellied seductress comes to mind. While these do abound at weddings and hotels, there are also more traditional fully clothed versions of belly dancers too, in a variety of amazing colorful folkloric fabulous costumes. Egyptian dance is playful, creative, can tell a (humorous/love) story, and can feature everything from traditional dance of men fighting with sticks to ladies balancing large brass (and lit) candelabras on their heads.