Muslim-Christian Unity

Often, our perceptions of a place are shaped by the headlines that make the front pages of the newspapers. While sectarian tensions are on the rise in Egypt, for every conflict that is publicized there are numerous unsung stories of tolerance and living-side-by-side that don't make the headlines.

Following the bombing of the Coptic church Alexandria this past New Years (which initially prompted me to write this blog), many Muslims went to Church with their Coptic friends and either stood outside barricading the church or went inside acting as human shields. In Tahrir Square, Christians stood over their Muslim counterparts defending them as they prayed. This sort of solidarity has a historical precedent in Egypt which should not be ignored as Egypt works now towards constructing a new future for itself, in which religious freedom and minority rights will hopefully be enshrined.

Zakat (Charity)

Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam and is considered an act of worship. The word in Arabic means alms, and literally "that which purifies" or multiplies / grows. The idea behind zakat is essentially redistribution of wealth, or what could be considered as one of the world's oldest social welfare systems. Every year Muslims give Zakat (a percentage of their salary) to help improve the lives of the most needy, and the month of Ramadan is a special time of year for acts of selflessness and giving to the poor.

Source: follow-islam.com

Cairo 360 has a nice listing of valuable charities in Egypt for donating to in 2011, and you can also check out The Charity Hub and Kherna. Cilantro Central also features great information on active NGOs in Egypt and places to donate.

Farasha (Folk Fabric for Celebrations)

During Ramadan, and other important festivities such as weddings, you will find these beautiful sheets of fabric with traditional traditional patterns all over them. Entire tents are constructed from these, housing everything from stands selling Ramadan delights, to entire wedding parties. Brightly colored, they are reminiscent of the bright colors of the Sufi dancers in Egypt and the brightly colored homes in the countryside.

Celebration Streamers

When there is a celebration, it is time to hang up lights and beautiful swathes of traditional folk fabric, and streamers (or often a combination of all three together).

A street lined with shiny tinsel streamers

Streamers hanging outside of a meat shop (Mr. Meat).

Abu Treika

Abu Treika is one of Egyptian football's best players. In 2006 he was nominated for the CAF African Footballer of the Year award, and in 2008 he came second for African Footballer of the year, for his great role in helping Egypt win the African Cup of Nations in 2008 by scoring the winning goal. The ladies in my office are all smitten by him, and the men all seem to have respect for him. This was further emphasized in the 2008 African Cup when he appealed to strong local sentiment after scoring a goal over Sudan, he removed his shirt to reveal the statement "sympathize with Gaza". Apparently Abu Treika is not only an athlete, but he's also a thinker too - a graduate of Philosophy (wow, I am impressed!) and is a proud father of two twins! Here is a nice summary of Abu Treika's career.

Source: Al Ahram

This article by Gabriele Marcotti in the Sunday Times has a fantastic review on Treika, describes him as "possibly the greatest footballer in the history of the world with a bachelor's diploma in philosophy hanging on the wall of his sitting room" and  "arguably the best footballer on Earth not plying his trade in Europe or South America", remaining loyal to Egypt and refusing to move abroad just to advance his career.

Treika is apparently also involved a lot in leading a number of community and charity projects.

Desserts with Eshta and Dates

The sweetest combination of desserts - Eshta and Dates together. Yum.
Often, as in the picture below, also combined with vanilla ice cream, pistachios/slivered almonds, some cake or creamy rice pudding. The dates often make me feel less guilty about the calories for some reason. Mind you, I've been told that the Eshta - in small doses - is actually very healthy also, full of Vitamin A, and of course, calcium.

Eshta (clotted cream)

Eshta figures prominently in many of the Egyptian Ramadan desserts, like qatayef for example. Basically, it is the layer of cream that rises to the top when you heat the milk.

Source: Ethnic Gourmet

Eshta is equivalent of "cool" or "sick", when something is fabulous, you say it.

Here is a recipe from Beirut on how to make clotted cream.
For more information on varieties of yummy creamed dishes, read this nice article from the Washington Times on creme de la creme.