... it’s the most wonderful month of the Year...

WHAT IS RAMADAN?
In the Islamic calendar, it is the 9th month, and it is a month that more than 1 billion Muslims celebrate every year. It is the month of fasting: a time where Muslims  work at purifying their souls, refocusing their attentions on God. It is 1 of the 5 pillars of the Islamic faith. It includes the following:
SAWM (the fasting)
ZAKAT (the giving of money, alms, clothing, food to the needy, acts of generosity)
TARAWEEH (Prayers additional time for praying is encouraged)
QURAN (many try to read through the 30 chapters of the holy book in the 30 days of fasting, and many mosques will have Quranic recitations.

WHEN DOES IT START?
The actual date varies every year (about 11 days earlier every year) but this year (2012) it will be from around 19th July - 19th August. But the commencement is dependent on the sighting of the crescent moon, as it is based on a lunar calendar! Ramadan is declared by the religious leaders in the area: each country (and even city or town) will commence at slightly different times.

HOW LONG DOES IT LAST?
For 29 or 30 days (again, depending on the sighting of the moon).

WHAT DO PEOPLE DO?
Adults (having reached puberty) are obliged (obligatory) to fast during the daylight hours: from dawn to sunset. One must fast from:
food
drink
sexual intercourse
cigarettes
This is to teach patience, humility, discipline and sacrifice. But it is much more than just a matter of refraining from food and drink. Muslims are also encouraged to do away with bad habits: refrain from evil actions, thoughts and words. Being kind to others, helping those less fortunate and performing good deeds are very important during this period. It is a time of spiritual reflection and worship, putting more effort and emphasis on purity of thoughts and actions and re-directing one’s heart away from worldly activities.

Children love the Ramadan month: they stay awake all night, until dawn! They play with friends, in the streets, singing special Ramadan songs. They also love to help with the pre-dawn waking up sound: which is usually running through the streets banging on a pot to wake up everyone to have their pre-dawn breakfast!

SO WHEN IS IT TIME TO EAT?
The sunset call to prayer sees most Muslims eating 3 dates and a little water, then attending prayers. After this is the social, communal meal: which is shared with much joy and enthusiasm. This meal is called the Iftar, breaking of the fast. Families will share special foods and desserts that are only made and eaten during this time. In the villages, whole families will gather to share food together. There is a great sense of excitement, as many special cakes, biscuits and desserts are only made during this time of year. There are usually lanterns festooning the streets and colourful ribbons or cloth hung between apartments down thin alley ways and shop-owners usually hang colourful fabrics in their shops: all adding to the special atmosphere. Shops will stock up with a lot of Ramadan type food: lots of dates, icing sugar, raisins and nuts, coconut.... Yum!!

... AND THE QUIET:
This is usually the quietest that you will ever see the streets of Egypt: 90% of the population is in their homes eating together: the streets are deserted, trams virtually at a stand-still while the nation breaks the fast: a time of closeness, religious zeal and excitement.

SO HOW HARD IS IT?
Physically it is a very challenging time. Here, at the moment, the month of fasting is during summer: so going the whole day without water is deeply challenging! For those who work during Ramadan, the days seem terribly long! Many of the people who live in Egypt are used to copious cups of tea and coffee a day, as well as many cigarettes or shisha pipes! So in effect you have almost an entire country going “cold-turkey” off caffeine and nicotine: makes for a really difficult first week!
But Muslims love this month: they look forward to it all year and really feel a spiritual cleansing during this time. You will find that many more people attend the mosques during this time: and often entire blocks will be filled with praying people: streets come to a stand-still... it is an incredible sight.
If you are visiting the country during Ramadan, and you are not fasting, you will still find that shops, markets and restaurants will be open during most of the day. However, we would encourage you to be considerate of those who are fasting, and not drink on the streets or eat in an obvious way around those who are trying to be disciplined: out of consideration to them. Also, as always, we would encourage you to dress modestly and conservatively as this is a sign of respect to those who are trying to fast and be disciplined in all areas.

WHAT ABOUT GIFTS?
During this month acts of charity and giving is rewarded 70 times more than any other time of the year. So there is a lot of giving of gifts: to family, to one another and to the less fortunate. Most children will be given new clothes and shoes (especially for the final day of celebration) and food is given and shared with the poor and the hungry. Money is often given to children within the family... so this is a time that the children love!

HOW DOES IT END?
The last 10 days are considered the most important, which sees a heightened spiritual intensity. The 27th night is called the “Precious Night” (or the night of destiny/power), which is thought to be the time that the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet. These last days are days that are full of blessing, hearing and answering of prayers. Ramadan comes to an end when there is a moon sighting. It ends with a small feast and then on the first day of the new month, there is a celebration with a final meal, Eid Al Fitr. New clothes are worn, friends are visited, families gather, and special dishes are prepared one last time.

It is always with sadness that people end the month of Ramadan: the early pre-dawn meals, the challenges of daily fasting, the focus of spiritual cleaning and refocusing on God are a annual highlight for all Muslims.... and of course the children love the sense of community, the gifts, the money, the special meals..... and the poor and needy receive many gifts and blessings during this month:

No wonder it is called it the favourite month of the year!!!

... hard work, good food and working together.......

HARVEST TIME IN THE NILE DELTA
When you feel the first hint of summer coming, what plans do you make? What pops into your mind? What do you start writing on your list of things to do?

* start going to the gym?
                    * buy a new swim-suit?
                                         * start booking for a week away?

Here in the beautiful Nile Delta area, the farmers have another all-consuming focus: it is harvest time!

THE FELLA-HEEN
The Fella-heen (farmers) as they are called here are some of the most wonderful people in Egypt: they work hard, all year round, have faces aged by the sun, feet and hands calloused and hardened through years of hard toil, they wake up before the dawn, and at sunset can be seen wearily making their way back home to a small and simple meal.
Their farms are generally small pockets of land, a fedhan (roughly an acre) belonging to their family for many long years, and passed on to their children. Land is viewed as precious and life-giving, and the thought of selling your family’s land is unthinkable.

THE CITY DWELLERS
The people from the towns and cities tend to be very harsh in their opinions and judgement of the fella-heen, many even say the word in a scornful or mocking manner: many city people view the fella-heen as uneducated (as some are) and not very intelligent (which they are not), and almost backward in their thinking and lives. However, taking a trip to the Nile Delta, you will be invited for tea, food, a seat in the shade of the tree on a hot day, and you will discover the hospitable heart of these people who live so close to the land.

WHO HARVESTS?
But at harvest time, families in the Delta come together and work. A man with a tractor and harvester will be hired to work for a week, or a few days, on a plot of land. At the same time all the able bodied men of the family to whom the land belongs, will come out and gather and sort the wheat into sacks and bags. If there are not enough men in the family, men from the villages will be hired to come and help harvest the fields. It is back-breaking manual labour under the harsh Egyptian summer sun. But there is a feeling of thankfulness, joy and happiness at this time.... although the financial benefits are not very much these days, and the farmers have to live very simple and hard lives.

BE THANKFUL...
The fellaheen are always grateful to God at this harvest time: their lands have produced food for their families for the coming year, and as they harvest, they begin to prepare the fields for the next plantings (rice and cotton): the promise of food and income.  Each farmer must also tithe a portion of his harvest to the poor; between 5-10%. So the poor are happy at this time: they know that they will be given food for their hungry families.

AND THE WOMEN?
They stay at home and make food... good food (as one farmer told us!). The ladies cook up wholesome nutritional meals for the men: breakfast around 9am and then lunch at around 1.30pm, to sustain and enable them to continue the hard work of harvesting. Many of the hired workers look forward to this time as they are always well fed, and the shared meals with fellow-workers builds a sense of team-work and community.

THEN TO THE MILL...
Once all the wheat has been bagged, they are stacked on a truck and then head to the mills, where the wheat will be milled, weighed and if there is more than the family needs, it is sold: the work is done, food is stored with perhaps a little money received.

SO, when you are worrying about your new clothes for the summer, buying bug-spray and factor 50 sun lotion.... remember the fella-heen, who are working their fields, together, and sharing well-earned meals under the shade of a tree on their farms.

... where oil, salt and cumin are the main ingredients..!

BEANS:
One of our tour guides from Fowa (look it up in the Nile Delta.....) asked me recently why foreigners do not “know” beans! This is a very confusing thing to most Egyptians as fuul (pronounced “fool”) is soul food for this country. It can be eaten hot, cold, re-fried, with added garlic or tomato or onions... and for breakfast, lunch, or on a sandwich!

What beans do most of us foreigners know then, if any?
* British people would say baked beans (in a tin)
    * Americans probably kidney beans (in a can)
        *Others of us probably green beans.... which are in an entirely new category.

But the fuul here is made from Fava beans. These have to be slow cooked, in a small mouthed, deep and rounded silver pot, coming in various sizes depending on the size of the family! Women who prefer to cook their own beans will start the cooking process after their dawn prayers, return to sleep and look in on the boiling beans a few hours later.

FOR WHOM IS THE BELL RINGING?
For those who do not enjoy the long, slow boiling of the beans, usually later in the evenings you will hear a bell ringing, and as you look over you balcony you will see a tired little donkey, pulling a cart which has one of the big fuul pots on the back. The owner will sell the pre-cooked fuul to whoever wishes to buy: it is sold by the cup-full, and poured into a plastic packet. The women will then add to this whatever suits their taste-buds: usually garlic, olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper and of course, cumin! Fuul can be mashed up, or eaten with the beans still whole. Either way it is delicious, especially with some of that local fresh “Shammy” bread, straight from the oven. Makes our tin of baked beans look a little boring!

FABULOUS FALAFEL!
Fried balls of chickpea/beans and various green leafy goodness! An expert told me you can tell how good a falafel is by the colour inside: good is green tinged... bad is more white! Chopping up all the cilantro and parsley and dill is laborious, so the lazy ones leave it out! You will find these in homes, take-away restaurants, 5 star hotels, stands on the side of the road... but whenever you eat, eat it hot and fresh! They are cheap and tasty and you  will like them! As usual, best eaten with others: sharing meals is a must!

SERIOUS ABOUT SALADS...
Lest you begin to fear that the food fare here is too much salt, oil and garlic (YUM!) let me assure you that every meal MUST have a salad. The most common is chopped up onions, tomato and garlic, with cilantro and parsley... again with oil, salt, garlic and lemon. Tasty, warm, fresh and deliciously local.

AND TOP IT OFF WITH SOME TEA!
Drinks are very seldom had before or during a meal. But no meal is complete without that ubiquitous cup of tea. Usually in a glass, “Lipton” is usually drunk black, (very strong), and sweet (very sweet), with the occasional sprig of fresh mint... leaving you feeling full, happy, warm and content. Milk can be located (after a bit of consternation) and requests for coffee (confusing, as this does not normally follow a meal) will usually be met with the popular “Nescafe” in a small packet: 2-in-1 (black with sugar) or 3- in-1(with milk and sugar)!

A COMPLETE SPREAD>>>
So ask your guide where to find the best local falafel (he will know) and he will happily (and proudly) take you there. You will have 4 or 5 small silver saucers of food hurriedly placed on the table: fuul, falafel (or ta’amiyya as it is called in Cairo), salad and some pickles... and then... the pile of fresh bread...
Rinse your hands
roll up your sleevs
and tuck in...

You will be glad you did..!

... where fashion abounds...

What do women wear in Muslim countries? Your answer to this question is probably completely inaccurate! Most of us foreigners tend to have very pre-conceived (and usually incorrect) views about Muslim women and fashion!

With regards clothing and fashion, let me shed some light on what fashion is here, what is important, and how women judge women in Egypt.

The all important Hand-bag!
Probably the most important item in a woman’s cupboard is her handbag, or should I say, are her handbags. Almost every woman you see on the street will be very proudly displaying her handbag. And there are many important aspects to consider when purchasing a handbag:

SIZE: Egyptian woman are not shy when it comes to size! The bigger the better.

COLOUR: White or beige is the standard colour for summer. Black is normal, ordinary and even boring but used by the “older” women during all year. But ideally, bags should be part of a whole colour statement: matching the head-scarf, shoes and shirt, the brighter the better!

BLING: Egyptian women love shiny things: so the more bling on the bag the better. Leather or plastic does not count. Most women go for more bags at a cheaper price! Variety is the key: mix and match. Definitely not one bag for all days.

So, if you are a woman, do not come to Egypt with a small black bag, or worse, a backpack: you will be shunned by the women as having no fashion sense at all!

The head scarf:
Many outsiders think of the head covering as a symbol of oppression! Not so here... the scarves worn by most of the younger women are bright, colourful, tied in many different ways and say a lot about the personality of the wearer. Get on the ladies metro or tram carriage... (if you are a woman of course) and have a good look at the scarves: it is an interesting past-time: look how it is folded and pinned, look at the pins used, how many scarves, how it is tied....
A minority will wear the complete black covering, but then, look at the gloves, handbag and shoes! Even completely veiled in black... there is still a fashion statement!

Baubles, bangles and beads...
Egyptian women love gold and their men like to give them gold and indeed MUST give them gold when they get engaged and married. So look at the wrists, fingers and necklaces of the engaged and married women: there is a story in each of the items. For the younger girls, they love necklaces, bracelets and rings: the shinier the better, the bigger the better, the more colours the better!

So if you want to blend in as much as you can, go bright, go bold, go big handbag..... but most importantly, go conservative and moderate: revealing flesh is not conducive to building bridges into this society and making friends with the women.....

... where bread is life and life is about getting bread !

What is your staple food?
Most of us “agaenib” (Arabic for foreigners) have forgotten what it is like to be in a country that has a STAPLE food. If I were to ask you this question, you may immediately think of what is the popular food:
In England, probably curry!
In America, possibly pizza and ice-cream.
In South Africa... probably steak...?

But here in Egypt, the food that is:
    * the basic dietry item
             * the pre-dominant daily item
                           * the main constituent
                                         * and an integral part of life....

IS BREAD!!
Interestingly, the Arabic word for bread “aish” is similar to the word “to live”!

What type of bread is this?
Well, in this country, nowadays, you can get bread which is what we would call “normal”: it comes delivered in a small van, is in a packet, is pre-sliced and is scathingly referred to by the locals as “toast”. This is far from what they call bread!

Shammy bread:
This is what Egyptians love, and no meal is complete without it. The look, ingredients and size may vary depending on where it is made. But in the cities, there are 2 main options:

1. a local “government” bakery, usually found in the local souq (market). You usually find this by following your nose: that wonderful permeating smell of fresh bread. That and the teeming mass of agitated people, yelling and gesticulating to the bakers (behind bars) who are taking orders from the people. This bread is subsidised (read: very cheap) and bought by the load... literally! They are then carted off (sometimes literally) in bags, cardboard boxes, on pallets balanced on heads or on trays. But there is a trick: they need to be cooled off individually, separated, before they are packed, or else they get damp, sticky and not well! So on any surface near the bakery: pavement, table, tram seats, station....you will find these breads laid out to “dry”. Once they have cooled sufficiently, they will be packed up and taken home. This process happens usually twice a day, and an average family of 6 will eat 36 per day! 2 at each meal.....glorious!

2.”private” bakery: this is not the patisserie kind of bakery, but bread only! They will have large ovens inside, and then usually on the pavement a gas-type pizza oven, where they quick bake these breads. They are more expensive than the government variety, but the flour is considered to be “better”, and there are no queues.

The eating of it...
The bread is normally served up with breakfast (fuul beans, perhaps falafal) with lunch (chicken or fish, or salad with cheese) and dinner (something light). You grab a shammy, tear off a piece, and then usually use it as a “spoon” to pick up a portion of whatever the food is. Many foreigners make a sandwich of it! But with meat, cheese, salad or on its own... it is wonderful! And you will be expected to eat quite a lot of it:

After all...

it is the Staple food here!

It brings light to their eyes, and if you enjoy it, you will gain the love of the people:

Love us..... love our bread!

... the beautiful... and the “not-so-much” beautiful!

When many of us are thinking about our first trip to Egypt, our minds are full of pictures:

* ancient Egypt
      * majestic Pharaohs
            * Anthony and Cleopatra
                   * Moses and the bulrushes
                         * grandiose temples
                                * gleaming marble columns

Although indeed, there are many impressive relics from the past, and history abounds to the well-known point of travellers suffering from “Pharonic-fatigue”, Egypt of today in many ways is not as beautiful from the outside as it once has been.

But it does the traveller well to know that one MUST look beyond the surface, although in just about every case, all that glitters is definitely not gold! The true beauty of this country lies within the people themselves.

With eyes shut....
Having said that, there are some buildings that are indeed still resplendent in their majesty: most belong the the Military, or the Government, and when you pause to consider them, there are strong echoes of what entire cities once must have looked like: SIGH!
And with a very wide stretch of imagination, you can almost visualise it.

With eyes open....
However, the majority of the buildings are.... how shall we say.... tired and sad! With the constant onslaught of salt air (sea towns), noxious exhaust fumes in constant use, acid rain (where it does fall!), unceasing dust, along with cement and sand laden wind... it is little surprise that most buildings have a rather “eroded” feel and look to them from the outside. Also, for those who are fortunate enough to find work, the salaries (in general) are extremely low. Thus money spent on face-lifts for the outside of buildings is just not high on the agenda.... understandably so!

So we have this odd shoulder to shoulder squashing of the most unlikely buildings, sprawling over each other, usually towering way about the required 6 floor height limit, with hardly a recognisable road in-between! A young friend, on his first visit here, wondered how we knew our way around the maze of streets, as they all have the same jam-packed-ness feel about them, with similar unkempt buildings... rather like a rabbit warren, he felt!

But look deeper, really look...
Usually a cultural surprise waits for all new visitors: once you go beyond the grubby exterior of the buildings, take the antiquated lifts up to the apartments, or walk the dusty marbled staircases... and enter into an apartment.... it is a whole new world!

You will be welcomed, embraced and kissed (same sex only please!) and plied with cups of tea, fruit, biscuits and given anything that you show an interest in (be careful). You will find homes filled with rich colour, and shiny, bright furniture, gold glittering wherever possible, huge cupboards and glass everywhere.... tiny kitchens when huge meals are prepared, and of course, you will be expected to join in!

These homes are filled with people, colour, tv, food, fluffy toys and many, many carpets! So take your shoes off, sink into the gold and burgundy chairs and sip on a lovely hot glass of tea, probably with mint, and lots of sugar:

Taste and see that it is good!

Ahlan wa Sahlan (our house is your house... you are welcome!)

... where a green light does not necessarily mean “GO”!

One of the main things that:
* shock
      * stress
           * confuse
                 * frighten
                      * & horrify 
first-time visitors to Egypt, (and yes, even returning visitors who have had time erode away the memories of their first visit) is....... THE TRAFFIC! 

WHY?
It is a ceaseless cacophony: crowded, completely random, constantly weaving, inconsiderate and confusing!
This is mainly because visitors tend to apply what THEY have come to believe are the norms for respectable traffic! It does well, however, to completely disregard the exams you had to sit to get your license, the words of wisdom shrieked at you by whoever taught you to drive and indeed, your own experience and natural instincts!

In Egypt, we drive as Egyptians drive!!

HOW?
“Well,” as one of our Egyptian friends explained to us, “we all drive trying to maximise the space available on the road!”
So basically, you have far too many cars, squashed together on a far too limited strip of road, all trying to squeeze into any available gap that appears, as quickly and as fast as possible......before any other car, bus, donkey, delivery bike or bicycle. And, of course, at the same time, trying to second guess what the other vehicles around, behind, in front and almost on top of you are going to do about that minuscule gap in the flow in front of you!

And the lanes?
One of the salesmen at a local car dealership doubled over with laughter as he heard that one foreigner had driven for half an hour along the corniche, staying in the “lanes” the whole way! This was a source of great merriment as the story gained momentum around the sales-floor. When asked, then, what are the lanes for then, if not to regulate the flow of traffic, the salesman sincerely replied:
“Well, of course, that is to help us find the road when there is thick fog!”
And when asked how often this happens, after discussion with his colleagues, replied:
“ Maybe 4 or 5 times a year, and only in the mornings!”

So the resultant effect...
is rather like a full speed Mario-Kart type computer game, with some vehicles even as odd-looking as those in the game! There is constant swerving, sharp breaking, cross-lane weaving, no indicating... all at rather high speed, with horns constantly in use, along with much angry arm-waving when someone takes your gap in the traffic, and even shouting across cars. And one-way streets mean nothing, cutting across 4 layers of cars to turn off the road is completely normal, and even suddenly seeing a car coming towards you on the wrong side of the road is usual! Short-cuts are expected: every driver is just trying to shave off those extra couple of minutes... which is really pointless, as traffic regularly grinds to a halt.

And a safe stopping distance?
There is no such thing! Most times drivers try to avoid actual contact with the cars surrounding them, however, this is not always possible, and results in heated conversations between the drivers. Almost every car has wonderful “scars” somewhere on the body to testify to frequent run-ins with other vehicles!
And parking is literally by touch (or bump) and drivers mostly leave the hand-brakes off so that if necessary the cars can be pushed slightly so that others can try and ease out of the parking spaces... so tightly packed are the cars: literally bumper to bumper! And when you park, you must fold your wing mirrors in, or else passing cars (who pass very close) will break them off!!

So what about crossing the roads?
Forget everything you mother ever taught you, ignore your natural instinct to flee, and never, ever try and cross a street alone! If you wait for a break in traffic... well... you might spend your entire holiday standing on the side of the road. Best advice is to stand close to a local person, and when they walk, you walk with them.
Cars generally will not slow down for the faint-hearted! But once you step out, they will tend to think about avoiding you!
And never expect traffic to stop even if a police-man holds up his hand... and no-one even notices traffic lights.... and you should not rely on them either!!!

But do not fear, if you stand paralysed on the side of the street for longer than a few minutes, a nearby shopkeeper, or police-man, or helpful young Egyptian will take your hand or arm and guide you safely across the road! This is what they do!!

You will get the hang of it....
The sooner you understand the sights, smells, feel and vibe of the 24/7 traffic, the quicker you will get to enjoy your holiday. The roads are like a crazy daily dodgem, which might leave you gasping in shock and horror..... but that is how the traffic rolls here!

(And of course, having read this, you will now be better prepared!!!)