... 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!!!)