New heroes born each day

I think Egypt has had a lot of unsung heroes for a long time now, but after Jan25 they are beginning to surface more and more. Egyptians are starting to realize their potential to redefine limits, to do the impossible, to stretch the folds of their own imagination, and to allow themselves to reinvent themselves as heroes.


For more on the redefining of heroes in the Arab world, read this article from the BBC on TEDGlobal talk 2011 by Suleiman Bakhit.

McDelivery

In Egypt, you can have anything delivered to your doorstep. Fast food, pharmacy, full restaurants, bakeries, groceries, etc. I'm not a big fan of McDonald's, but I am a big fan of delivery. These cute little delivery trucks fill the roadways of Egypt. Considering the Cairo roadways - McDonald's on wheels gives new meaning to the phrase "fast food".





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Swimming in Ramadan

Going to a pool during Ramadan is fabulous because you practically have the pool all to yourself. One of the advantages of Ramadan taking place in the summer in Egypt and why its a great time for tourists to come here! The waters start to get a bit fuller just before sunset (when a lot of people do exercise), so be sure to go early!
Travel to Egypt!

Suntanning

I do believe you should never encourage suntanning. However, for those of you who do prefer that California glow, you can save your money from the tanning salons and pick up a ticket for Egypt.

Or better yet, just buy a bronzer and still hop on the plane over here.

Source: Queen Estee's How to Care for Sunburnt Skin

Rockin' Christmas Parties

Since it is currently Ramadan, and I've made quite a lot of Ramadan posts, I wanted to balance the blog with a post about Christmas which is also a major time of celebration here in Egypt. The below pic is from a Christmas party hosted at a club just after New Years. As with every fabulous Egyptian party - loud music and lots of dance are involved.

Trendy Restaurants

Egypt (and by Egypt I mostly mean Cairo and Alexandria) has a large and growing selection of restaurants, cafes and night clubs. Great food, great atmosphere, and great company.  Cairo 360 is a great site to dig the latest reviews on where to go. Other sites to check out include Yallabina, CairoDining, and VirtualTourist.

Hibiscus

The Hibiscus flower (called "karkaday" by the Egyptians) is not only gorgeous, all over the place in Egypt, but also made into a fabulous drink which can be served both hot and cold. Drinking it hot is a great natural remedy for lowering your blood pressure. The drink is prepared with quite a bit of sugar, and it is really refreshing in both summer (cold) and winter (hot). The hot version is interestingly a bit like German gluhwein, minus the wine.

Hibiscus comes also in other variations of color, such as pink, white and even blue, but the most common variety here in Egypt is red.

The Best Hair Salons

When used to live in Europe, I would wait until I came back to Egypt to get my haircut every time. In fact, the best haircut I received in the six years I lived in Europe - was by an Egyptian hairdresser. Egyptian salons know how to make women look beautiful. The best salons are often tucked away in small alleyways, with little ostentation: zero decorations, chairs covered in vinyl, plastic flowers, a metallic wall hanging of verses of the Quran, the smell of ironed hair. The results are always incredible.

Egyptian Rappers

Love rap. Love Egypt. together = fabulousness.

A nice list of top 10 Egyptian Rappers

Gorgeous Gazebos

On your rooftop, your patio, at restaurants looking over the Cairo skyline, and at vacation resorts --- Egypt has some of the most lovely and romantic gazebos out there.

Room with a View

Egypt has a lot of apartment buildings. With so many people and such a difficult terrain, I guess it just makes sense - build UP. One of the nice corollaries of this rationale however, is: balconies. Yay. It is wonderful to sit on balconies, no matter where you are. Here in Egypt, with its divine weather, especially in evenings, with skies clear of clouds and studded with stars, gentle warm wind to lull you to sleep, sitting out on balconies is just fabulous.

source: ultimatereviews.co.uk

“We know that we come from the winds, and that we shall return to them; that all life is perhaps a knot, a tangle, a blemish in the eternal smoothness. But why should this make us unhappy? Let us rather love one another, and work and rejoice”
(E. M. Forster, Room with a View, 2.45).

Sun-kissed Laundry

Yes. Do a favor to the earth, and stop using up electricity by putting your clothes in the dryer; instead let your bedsheets and clothes dry the natural way, kissed by rays of sunshine. In Egypt - it's easy, in the summer  - depending on the heat - you can take half an hour to dry sometimes, even faster than your machine, and great for naturally bleaching your whites (though a bit less fabulous for your darker colors - take care not to leave them out too long!)

Fabulous Sunsets

Egypt has some fabulous locations to take in the sunset. Whether it is in a falucca floating along the Nile, or walking along the Corniche, from across the sand dunes in the desert, or in a vacation spot along the beach of either the Mediterranean or Red sea, or simply from rooftops over Cairo or your very own balcony, or even - stuck in traffic.

The roadways when you are late for Iftar

It generally sucks to be late for meeting friends and family for Iftar. The one consolation is that after sunset the roadways clear up a ton making driving in Cairo a lot nicer than usual.



An empty roadway in Maadi just after sunset.

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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.

Field of Dreams

Egypt is a country, where everyone dreams - not of becoming the next David Beckham - but of becoming the next Abu Treika. You'll find football (soccer) being played in all corners of the country. And they have reasons to believe in themselves - they have won the African Cup of Nations more than any other country - seven times.

An impromptu match down a small side street in Mohandessin, Cairo

Arabian coffee

Yesterday, I tasted "arabic" coffee for the first time, and I start to understand why the Egyptian version of Turkish coffee is so flavorful - because it seems to be a blend of the two of them. Traditional arabic coffee seems to be made entirely from cardamom (hebaham). It is served with sweet delights (nuts covered in dates and then covered again in either sesame or caraway seeds). Combined, the coffee leaves this smooth and mesmerizingly warm all over feeling - refreshing especially after a day of fasting.

Almond Milk (yummy vegan alternative to rice and soy milk)

For people who are lactose intolerant, vegan, or just enjoy a nice sweet drink, then smooth and creamy Almond milk will tantalize your taste buds. This healthy alternative to milk and other milk replacements (like soy and rice) is a great source of protein and is just plain delicious. Visit the Alf Hana blog for a recipe on how to make almond milk.

The Swiss Club

Nestled in the busy streets and towering buildings of Mohandessin, the Swiss club is a surprisingly calm sanctuary of lush greenery, quaint but attractive old-ish buildings (in Egypt, "old" goes pretty deep), a nice play area for children, a German bookstore (also featuring some books in English, Arabic, and French) and a nice restaurant and sitting area. A great retreat for those wishing an escape from the urban landscape, a feeling of being withdrawn into the countryside as you are surrounded by centuries old trees, open green spaces, and quiet.