"Habibi boy" type or "My Granny habebty" :)))))))))))))

When a man is old enough to do something wrong, he is old enough to do something right.

In the last years I heard about a lot of new cases of intimate destruction between old foreign women from USA, Europe, Asia, Australia and Arabian men. 

The number of women attempting to form, what they believe as a long term relationship, with men young enough to be their son or even grandson is increasing. 

The majority of these women are quite intelligent which makes their behavior more baffling, statistically more than 75% of these cross cultural relationships or pseudo marriages end in divorce or abandonment,

When a dark eyed 22 year old man holds you in his arms and whispers he wants to grow old with you, try to remember you are already approaching 45, 55, 65,  and that you are biologically, organically and every other ally one could describe, you are already old. Doesn’t take a genius to work out when you are 80 this guy will still be so young, you’ll be using him as a Zimmer frame.

It seems middle to old age foreign women are acquiring the label ‘sex tourist". Unlike most European or American and Asian holiday destinations, sex outside of marriage is not accepted in Arabic countries.
However in the side alleys and back rooms of certain Lawyers in the Arabian countries you will find the ‘live in sin license.’ The ‘Urfi’ is a piece of paper, a formal contract of intent to marry. It is being used by growing numbers of young Egyptian gigolos simply as a way of getting around religious strictures against having pre-marital sex.

For the older post menopausal, sexually active blinkered woman the Urfi is simply a piece of paper which allows her to bring her young gigolo into her home.

Most Arabian guys have a high sense of honour and behave in an appropriate way towards members of the opposite sex.

However tourist areas attract a certain type of predator, the ‘Habibi Boy’
The ‘Habibi Boy’ is only in love with money or the determination to get a visa to a destination where he is simple enough to believe the streets are paved with foreign gold.
Any elderly lady who is conned into thinking the ‘Habibi Boy’ is really in love with her needs her head tested.
Remove your clothes lady, stand in front of a full length mirror and tell me, does your body compare in any shape or form to a 25 year old woman?
Then ask yourself this question: “What normal young man would actually want to sleep with his Granny?

You might have gone to great lengths to explain to this ignorant juvenile the meaning of the female reproductive system, you no longer have the ability to provide him with offspring. You might even take the softly, softly approach because you are too embarrassed to say ‘my reproductive organs have shriveled up to the size of raisins.’
‘Habibi Boy’ will swear he doesn’t care, he doesn’t want children he only wants you. You are his life, his soul and two thousand other descriptions he can fabricate from the romantic songs of Amr Diab.

So an year down the road, why is it he disappears to his hometown or in the village he came out from after convincing you to invest in a little business, one which his brother can run for you both? The little business  usually involves Shaorma.

Your financial investment is used for a big slap-up village wedding with a young bride his family have chosen for him; nine months later he becomes a ‘daddy Habibi Boy.’ You are crushed, your whole world has fallen apart, you remind him of all the beautiful lies he has told you. He insists everything he said was true. He swears he didn’t want to marry the young, beautiful bride but his father insisted and he must obey his father.
He also tells you nothing will change and in his head he believes this. The only difficulty in this equation now is your funds are getting less and you will have two more members of a family you didn’t subscribe too.

Of course you do have a choice, accept the situation where your little love nest becomes the little half way house, or kick him out.

Unfortunately many women are accepting this situation for some unknown psychological reason known only to them.

Their lives are miserable, confused, always checking ‘Habibi Boy’s texts and Facebook page.
These women are under the illusion that the power exerted over them by these juvenile delinquents is because he loves them so much!
This isn’t love, this is ‘control’ you are his meal ticket or maybe his future status of emigrant relies solely upon you.

“I love you, I love you, I want to grow old with you, you are my sun, moon and stars!”  Think of how the two you would look walking arm in arm down the high street in Wigan? Think of the derision you would suffer from friends, family and strangers and get a grip.
Don’t anyone tell me ‘MMD.’ (My Mohammed is different)! If he is so different why do you carry your purse in a holster strapped under your arm?

He might look like Captain Charisma, but believe me under that handsome exterior is a Neo Fascist.
Once he has your money, bye bye love, once he has sped off with the car you just happened to put in his name because he conned you into believing it would be much easier to register. Once his name is on the deeds of your apartment he will disappear, you might even be lucky enough to get a text from him which says “Good bye you old bag,”

Delusions are sometimes romantically linked with adolescence, after that we stop trusting like a child and think like an adult.
Love and friendship is not painted in broad strokes.
Relationships are not time-shares, functioning is not enough, your happiness comes from within you, you don’t need anyone else to complete it.
There are many cross cultural marriages that work, however these unions did not meet in the artificial holiday environment of exotic Arabian resorts.

Before you dive into the murky waters of a relationship with a young ‘Habibi Boy’ look on the internet and see if his name has been put on one of the many Blacklists.

REMEMBER THESE WORDS:

The man who asks  a woman for money is not a man.

Abu el-Abbas el-Mursi Mosque from Alexandria, Egypt

The most important historic mosque in Alexandria, Egypt, as well as a very beautiful one, is considered to be that of Abu El Abbas El Mursi. Constructed in 1775 by Algerians, it was built over the tomb of the thirteenth century Murcia Andalusan saint, Ahmed Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi (Abu'l 'Abbas) who joined and then lead, as a devout Sufi, the Shadhali brotherhood. Abu El Abbas El Mursi is in himself a very interesting story.

His entire name was Sheikh Shehab El Din Abu El Abbas Ahmed Ibn Umar Ibn Mohamed Al Ansary El Mursi. He was born in Andalusia (an autonomous district of Spain, the capital of which is Seville) in 616 H (1219 AD) to a wealthy family in the trading business. He was therefore well educated, having been instructed in the Quran, Sunna and Shehab, and he grew up helping his father in the trading business. He was also known for his honesty and for his many contributions to the needy.

He left Spain with his family in 640 H (1242 AD) in the face of increasing Christian control over Spain. He was accompanied by his father, brother, and his mother. However, his parents did not make it to Tunisia, their destination. In Tunisia, Shehab heard about El Sheikh Abu El Hassan El Shazly and he accompanied him in his journey to Alexandria. Many Muslim scholars and religious people chose to live in Alexandria after the Christian began to dominate Spain. 

El Sheikh El Shazly was fond of Shehab and in return Abu al-Abbas became one of his best students. Abu al-Abbas married El Shazly’s daughter and had two daughters and a son from her. Shehab Abu El Abbas El Mursi lived 43 years in Alexandria as a Muslim teacher until he died in 686 H (1286 AD).

The site of the modern mosque has a long history. At first, it was only the tomb of Abu El Abbas El Mursi, which remains today on its original site. The tomb was placed in a small building near the eastern harbor of Alexandria.

In the year 1307 AD, El Sheikh Zein El Din Ibn El Qattan, one of the richest traders of Alexandria, visited the tomb. Reverent of the Muslim scholar, he ordered his men to build a mausoleum and a dome for the tomb. He also built a fine mosque with a small square minaret. He even funded an Iman for the small mosque. The tomb was placed under the dome to the right hand side of the entrance. The mosque became a place of pilgrimage for many Muslims from Egypt and Morocco who passes through Alexandria during their Hej journey to and from Mecca.

However, by 1477, the mosque was neglected and in bad need of repair. Therefore, when Gaqmas El Zahry, the ruler of Alexandria, visited it, he ordered that the mosque be renovated. At the same time, he built himself a tomb alongside that of Abu al-Abbas, where he also was buried after his death. Once again in 1596 AD, the mosque was renewed after a visit by Sheikh Abu al Abbas El Khurzemy, who also built himself a tomb in the complex. However, though the original structure does incorporate older elements, it was Sheikh Abu el Hassan El Maghreby who, after visiting the small mosque in 1775, ordered the building of the current one on this site.However, by 1477, the mosque was neglected and in bad need of repair. Therefore, when Gaqmas El Zahry, the ruler of Alexandria, visited it, he ordered that the mosque be renovated. At the same time, he built himself a tomb alongside that of Abu al-Abbas, where he also was buried after his death. Once again in 1596 AD, the mosque was renewed after a visit by Sheikh Abu al Abbas El Khurzemy, who also built himself a tomb in the complex. However, though the original structure does incorporate older elements, it was Sheikh Abu el Hassan El Maghreby who, after visiting the small mosque in 1775, ordered the building of the current one on this site. 

Nevertheless, by 1863, the current mosque was in a bad state once more, unfit for holding prayer services. Therefore, Ahmed El Kakhakhny, one of Alexandria's most famous builders, renewed the current mosque and afterwards, a number of the houses that were built up around the mosque were removed to make more space. Afterwards, Ali Mubarak, and educational leader in Egypt, described it as, "wide, strong, and fine looking and the practice of Islam is being done there in its best manner." By now, the mosque was operated under the Awqaf (Waqf), a governmental endowment for Islamic affairs, which provided Imans as well as caretakers. A mulid, or Islamic religious festival was also established to celebrate the birth of Abu El Abbas, which lasted eight days every year.

King Farouk, whose aim it was to build Cairo into the Paris on the Nile, also sought to make Alexandria the Jewel of the Mediterranean. There, he built a wide square known as "Midan el Masaged", or the "Square of Mosque" covering some 43,200 square meters. The Mosque of Abu el Abbas el Mursi was the focal point and center of this square, and it is surrounded by five other mosques, among which is that of al-Busiri and Yaqut al- 'Arshi. As part of this building program, the mosque was once again rebuilt by the government in the beautiful Arabian style that was popular during the Ayyubid Period, the time when Abu El Abbas El Mursi first came to Alexandria from Spain. They also paid special attention to the mausoleum of the saint during these renovations, leaving it in its original position.

This was a major rebuilding of the mosque. The walls of the mosque stand 23 meters high and dressed in artificial stone, while the minaret, situated on the southern side, rises to 73 meters. It has an Ayoubids design, with four sections. The first section is about 15 meters high and square in shape. The second one is four meters high with eight sides. The third level is about 15 high with sixteen sides, while the uppermost level is 3.25 meters high with a circular shape. The top of the minaret is covered with brass and and has an Islamic moon finale.

The mosque has two main entrances. The one on the north overlooks the square and faces the street leading to the Royal Palace of Ras at-tin. The eastern door also overlooks the square. The stairs of the entrances are made of Egyptian granite.

The main part of the mosque, internally, is an octagon, with sides measuring 22 meters. The internal walls are also dressed in artificial stone, though there is a mosaic dada 5.60 meters high. The entire area of the mosque is 3000 square meters. The ceiling, supported by sixteen columns made of Italian granite which in turn support arches, soars 17.20 overhead. The ceilings are decorated with arabesque.

The columns are solid, or monolithic, including their capital and base. They are octagonal in shape, measuring .85 meters in diameter and 8.60 meters in height. In the center of the ceiling is an elevated skylight with eight sides, known as a Shokhsheikha, that is 24 meters above floor level and 51 meters side. Each side of the skylight actually has three windows of colored glass in arabesque designs, set into aluminum frames. This skylight is surrounded by four domes, placed over the four mausoleums within the complex. The domes have an inner and outer layer. The inner one forming the ceiling stand 22 meters high, and are 5 meters in diameter. The upper domes measure 7.5 meters in diameter and stand 11 meters above the lower domes. The floors are paved in white marble.

The doors, minbar and windows are made of joined and finely carved teak, citronia and walnut. The minbar is 6.35 meters high, capped by a dome, and has verses of Quran written at the top in French gold. The mihrab of the mosque, located in the Qibla wall, stands at the base of the mosque's minaret. It is flanked by two columns of Egyptian granite measuring three meters in height. At the end of each column, the name of Mohamed is written in the Kufic style of Arabic writing. The main rule in Islam, ”There is no god except Allah and Mohamed is the prophet of Allah,” is written twice, also flanking the mihrab.

The mayda, an absolution area, along with the lavatories, are arranged on the western side of the mosque with their own entrance that overlooks the square.

According to a Royal desire, the necessary alterations were made to reserve special quarters for women, with a private entrance, in order that they can perform their religious rites. The Ministry of Waqfs completed the construction of the mosque at the beginning of 1943 at a total cost of about 140,000 LE. It would seem that this amount of funds paid for a very exquisitely beautiful monument that stands as a lasting memory to Alexandria's most beloved Muslim saint.

Traveling in Egypt - short advices

CULTURE

Egypt is a Middle Eastern country and has Middle Eastern customs. Whether Muslim or Copt, the Egyptians are deeply religious and religious principles govern their daily lives. Combined with religious belief is commitment to the extended family. Each family member is responsible for the integrity of the family and for the behavior of other members, creating an environment that would be envied by many people in the West. Certainly, the result is that the city of Cairo is much safer than any western metropolis.

Yet when westerners visit Egypt they are often apprehensive. Their views of Egyptians and Arabs, fomented by unkind and untrue media stories, often bear no relation to reality. Travelers are often surprised by their friendly, hospitable reception and take home with them good feelings about Egypt and its population.

Egyptians have been raised in a social environment steeped in Islam, a background that can color their decision-making in a way difficult for foreigners to understand. Yet it is precisely this training that makes Egyptians some of the most charming and helpful of hosts. By understanding the culture and with consideration for your hosts, you can be a welcome guest in Egypt.

RELIGIOUS LIMITS

Devout Muslims do not drink alcohol though most do not object to others imbibing in reasonable amounts. If in doubt, ask. In addition to the prohibition on alcohol, the faithful do not use drugs or eat pork, which is considered unclean. Explicit sexual material--magazines, photos, tapes, or records--is illegal and subject to confiscation.

Keep in mind that proselytizing is illegal in Egypt. Foreigners actively working to convert Egyptians have been asked to leave. Remember, almost all the Egyptians are either conservative devoted Muslims or Copts.

Moral Codes

In Egypt there are hardly any restrictions on foreign women. Ticket lines, for example, are occasionally segregated. Women should line up with other women (especially since the lines are usually shorter). On buses, the driver may want you to be seated in the front with other women. On the metro lines, the first car is usually reserved for women.

For men, speaking to an unknown Egyptian woman is a breach of etiquette. Take care in any liaisons you form because some families still follow ancient traditions.

SOCIAL MORES

In general, Egyptians are most accommodating and they will go out of their way to help you and respond to any questions you have. Most Egyptians require little personal space and will stand within inches of you to talk. You will find that whenever you start talking with an Egyptian, you will inevitably draw a crowd, and often the Egyptians will start discussing among themselves over the correct answer to a question.

Invitations

Egyptians, if offered anything, will refuse the first invitation which is customary. Therefore (unless you're dealing with Egyptians used to Western frankness) you should do the same. If the offer is from the heart and not just politeness, it will be repeated. If you're invited into a home, especially in small villages, and have to refuse, the householder will often press for a promise from you to visit in the future, usually for a meal. If you make such a promise, keep it, for having foreign guests is often considered a social coup. If you fail to arrive, your would-be host will be humiliated. To repay invitations, you may host a dinner in a restaurant, a common practice.

Baksheesh

Please do not offer tips to professionals, businessmen, or others who would consider themselves your equals. You may seriously offend them by your act.

Women

Before the famous Egyptian feminist Hoda Shaarawi deliberately removed hers in 1922, the veil was worn in public by all respectable middle-class and upper-class women, Muslim, Jew, or Christian. By 1935, however, veils were a comparative rarity in Egypt, though they continued to be worn as an item of fashion in neighboring countries like Syria and Jordan for 30 more years and have remained obligatory in the Arabian Peninsula to this day.

Nowadays in Egypt, most of the Muslim women still wear the veil demonstrating either modesty or Muslim piety. One reason this is favored by many young professional women, is that it tends to discourage male advances, physical or verbal.

From the 1930s onwards, Egyptian women began to enter into business and the professions. Thus by 1965, thanks in part to social changes affected in the course of the July Revolution, Egypt could boast a far higher proportion of women working as doctors, dentists, lawyers, professors, diplomats, or high officials than might have been found in the US or in any European country outside of Scandinavia.

Women Traveling Alone

In Egypt, before the revolution, a woman traveling alone was generally safe, but she could be noticed, less in large cities than in the country. 

These days, it is better to come in a touristic group or if it is a must to travel alone in Egypt, make sure that you have everything settled there: from hotel booking, to driver to pick you up from the airport, and if it is possible, even someone you know and you trust, to wait you there (this is for your safety due to the criminals that are still out there free after they were released from prisons). However, if problems do occur, seek help from the police or any shop nearby.

Although you probably will never be accosted, take simple precautions as you would anywhere: don't walk in deserted areas alone or in empty dark streets, don't go in neighborhoods you don't know and sure, avoid to take taxi's from the street (if you are in Cairo always take the white taxi - that is the safest one and the honest one - who counts your real road and the right amount to pay for it). 

Although most invitations are innocent, don't accept them from strangers and don't enter in conversations with them.

VISITOR RESPONSIBILITIES

Visiting Mosques

Major tourism mosques are open to the public unless services are in progress (the main service is on Friday at noon). Other mosques are not. Keep in mind that a mosque differs from a western church in that Christian churches are considered houses of God, while mosques are more a gathering place for the faithful of Islam. Unless otherwise posted, tickets to some that have been restored are sold by the caretaker for about LE3-6. All visitors to mosques, mausoleums, and madrasas must remove their shoes. Most Muslims walk around in their stockings but those mosques that are major tourist attractions have canvas overshoes available; a tip of 50PT to LE1 is in order for the people who put them on for you. Women must cover bare arms and should also have a hat or a head scarf (remember, on a visit in Egypt in 1992, Princess Diana of Wales was covering her hair and let out her shoes before she enters in el Azhar from Cairo). 

Princess Diana of Wales in el Azhar - May 12, 1992

The Mosque at the Citadel offers the canvas overshoes for 5 LE or one dollar.

Crime and Drugs

Crime in Egypt was before revolution nearly nonexistent, and violence was usually limited to family feuds. After the revolution, things are still healing in Egypt, but from my own experience, I'm telling you that if you follow all the steps from above, you have nothing to be afraid off. However, in tourism areas some pickpockets and petty thieves may exists, so be careful and remember that the ever helpful tourism police are usually nearby. Women must be cautious, especially in out-lying areas. Stay completely away from drugs and leave yours at home.

The gift of Allah

Ancient Egyptians, depending on their wealth and status, could have a varied diet, but central to their nourishment was bread and beer. From very early on, both were consumed at every meal, by everyone, and no meal was considered complete without them. Bread, nutritionally, provided protein, starch and trace nutrients, and it also played much the same role as beer in the Egyptian economy as well as in cult rituals. However, some flour caused severe abrasion of the teeth particularly among those who depended upon bread as their main source of nourishment. But this affected all classes and even Amenhotep III suffered badly from such problems.

Bread was made from a variety of ingredients, though often only a specific species of wheat was thought best (Triticum aestivum), though almost any cereal was suitable. Depending on the type of flour, the structure and texture of a loaf could be very different, and just as today, all breads were not light, risen or spongy.

Thankfully, the climate of Egypt, which is very arid in many locations, is responsible for preserving a rich record of organic materials, including bread loaves. Hundreds of specimens have survived, mostly from funerary offerings that have found their way into the museums of the world. These even include fragments from Predynastic graves of the Badarian culture. Talk about stale! These loaves are over five thousand years old.

These ancient loaves, though a direct source of evidence about ancient Egyptian bread and baking, have actually not been studied much by modern scholars. Hence, though many breads and cakes are known from historical documents, their distinguishing features are in fact unknown. Some scholars have suggested that pesen-bread was a flat round loaf, not unlike that found in Egypt today. However, preserved loaves have shown that breads of the same shape were not always made from the same ingredient or the same recipe and, therefore, may not have been known by the same name. For example, extant hand-formed conical loaves were frequently made from emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum), though one known specimen was made mostly from figs (Ficus carica). At the same time, various shapes and textures of bread could also be made from the same batch of dough.

We mostly know the process of baking from the evidence of artistic scenes in which it is depicted. For example, one of the best examples comes from a relief in a 5th Dynasty tomb at Saqqara belonging to Ti. However, there are also Old Kingdom statuettes that portray baking activities. Middle Kingdom models, notably from the tomb of Meketra, also provide some details, as well as give us a idea of a busy, robust bakery. Also, several tombs at Beni Hasan contain bread-making scenes, and at least one other is found in the New Kingdom wall paintings of Nebamun's tomb on the West Bank of Thebes (modern Luxor).

The preparations for making bread in Ancient Egypt were somewhat more difficult that in our modern times, principally because of the distinctive nature of their staple wheat, emmer, which differs in some properties from most modern wheat used to make bread. Emmer was used into the Ptolamic Period. Today, typical bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) has ears that easily separate into chaff and grain when threshed. The traditional process for processing it uses winnowing and sieving to remove the chaff from the grain.

However, emmer requires more extensive processing, which at least in families was usually performed by women. Usually, only enough grain was ground at one time to fill the needs of a day's meals.

After threshing, it breaks into packets called spikelets, each of which is a thick envelope of chaff that tightly surround two kernels. Prior to winnowing and sieving to clean the chaff from the kernels, a process is needed to break the chaff apart without damaging the grain.

From various research and experimental evidence, we do have some idea of the procedures employed to processes the spikelets by the ancient Egyptians. We believe that whole spikelets were moistened with a small amount of water and than pounded with wooden pestles in limestone mortars. Since the water made the spikelets pliable, the chaff could be shredded without crushing the grain kernels inside. This was not a time consuming process, although the ancient Egyptian mortars were usually small and several batches of spikelets had to be processed before enough freed kernels were produced to make bread for even a family. Even after this added process, the released grain kernels and broken chaff then had to be tried, probably under the sun. Afterwards, it went through a series of winnowing steps, and sieving, The sieves made from rushes and the like were not very efficient and allowed grains of sand and little flakes of stone to remain in the flour, especially when soft mill stones were used. In fact, the last step in the process was the removal of final fragments of chaff which were picked out by hand.

Next, the the whole grain was milled into flour, usually using a flat grinding stone known as a saddle quern. From Neolithic times through the Old Kingdom, these grinding stones were placed on the floor, which made the process difficult. However, tombs scenes of the Middle Kingdom show the querns raised onto platforms, called quern emplacements. Some of these have been excavated at a few New Kingdom sites. They made life much easier, and probably made the work quicker as well. Modern experimentation with these devices has shown that no grit was required to aid the milling process, as has sometimes been suggested by scholars, and the the texture of the flour could be precisely controlled by the miller. 

Baking also evolved over ancient Egypt's long history. Excavation of a bakery dating to the Old Kingdom at Giza evidences that heavy pottery bread molds were set in rows on a bed of embers to bake the dough placed within them. By the Middle Kingdom, square hearths were used, and the pottery moulds were altered into tall, narrow, almost cylindrical cones. Then, by the New Kingdom, a new oven was introduced with a large, open-clay cylinder encased in thick mud bricks and mortar. The flat disks of dough, perhaps leavened, were slapped onto the pre heated inner oven wall. When baked, they peeled off and were caught before they could fall into the embers below.

Bread loaves are especially numerous in tombs of the New Kingdom, and are not limited as to size, shape or decorations. In fact, some loaves were formed into recognizable shapes, such as fish and human figures. Others were not as fancy, taking simple shapes such as disks and fans. The dough textures of these loaves range from very fine to mealy, mostly only indicating the people, as today, probably had preferences in the type of bread they liked to eat. Whole or coarsely cracked cooked grains were often added, creating a texture not unlike modern multigrain breads. Emmer flower was almost always used for these loaves. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) was very rarely used in these bread loaves, and the amount that does show up is in such small amounts that it may have accidentally gotten into the mix. Somtimes, the sour dough left over from the previous day might be added, or some barm from the last time beer was brewed. There were flavorings, such as coriander seeds (Coriandrum sativum), honey, butter, eggs, oil an herbs, as well as fruits such as dates (Phoenix dactylifera) which were occasionally added. Yeast might also be added to some recipes, but leavening was not always used.

Seemingly, brad flavored with more exotic ingredients were probably only infrequently available to the poorer classes of Egyptians, though more research is needed to determine what breads were available to the various social classes. Unfortunately, funerary loaves comprise most of our evidence of early breads, which might not be representative of the day-to-day variety. However, the remains of cereal-processing equipment and baking installations at settlements sites has provided some evidence for the preparation of ancient Egyptian bread, and these sites may yet yield up more typical loaves.

Food of the Pharaohs and ancient Egyptians

Doubtless, ancient Egypt's probably eat better than many others in the ancient world. After all, KMT, a name for ancient Egypt refers to its rich, dark, fertile soil and we have no doubt that since the invention of agriculture, Egyptians, with the Nile Valley and Delta, had a distinct advantage over many others when it came to food. Of course, there were lean times, when the inundation of the Nile failed them, but most often, this was not the case. In fact, we find many statues and pictures of ancient Egyptians who are well overweight.

However, it is very easy to describe any process in ancient Egypt in too broad of terms. We also must keep in mind that ancient Egypt spans thousands of years, and during that period their diets varied to some extent, while new foods were also added to their menus.

Bread and Cereal Food

Agriculture existed from an early date in Egypt. For the common people of Egypt, cereal foods formed the main backbone of their diet from the predynastic period onward Even for the rich, this staple mean generally consisted of a variety of different breads, often with other ingredients mixed in.

Sometimes these ingredients were purposeful, while at other times not. Because of the crude utensils used to make bread, quartz, felspar, mica, ferro magnesium minerals and other foreign bodies, including germs were almost always present in the flour. bread was made by mixing the dough, kneading it with both hands or sometimes with the feet in large containers. Yeast, salt, spices, milk and sometimes butter and eggs were then added, before the bread was placed in a baking form or patted into various shapes.

At first it was cooked in open fires or even on the embers. But from the Old Kingdom on, bread-molds were used which were preheated, wiped with fat and filled with the dough. Slowly this process became more sophisticated.

In the Middle Kingdom, tall, tapered bread ovens with a firebox at the bottom, a grating and domed, upper compartment which was open at the top were used. At first, and really for even later common consumption, bread was usually cooked in the shape of a pancake. However, later bread was made in long or round rolls, and sometimes even shaped into figures, particularly for ceremonial purposes. Large, soft griddle cakes were also made, just as in Nubia today.

Sometimes thick loaves were made, with a hollow center that was then filled with beans, vegetables or other items. Sometimes flat bread was made with raised edges in order to hold eggs, or other fillings. Eventually, bread was made with various other ingredients, but there was no distinction between bread and pastries. Yet bread was often sweetened with honey or dates, or flavored with sesame, aniseed or fruit.

Vegetables

Obviously, even for the poor, other items such as vegetables, fruit and fish were consumed, all gifts of the Nile. They often ate beans, chick peas, lentils and green peas, just as modern Egyptians do today. Leeks and Egyptian lettuce was also popular. garlic were eaten, as well as thought to repel agents of diseases, and onions were popular, as well as being used for medical purposes. Though Herodotus tells us otherwise, radishes do not appear to have been consumed much.

Fruit

Chances are we do not know all the different types of fruit consumed. The most popular fruit in ancient Egypt was probably dates, which are rich in sugar and protein. While the rich used honey as a sweetener, the poor more often employed dates. They were also dried for later consumption, and were sometimes fermented to make wine.

We know that figs were eaten, but mostly from illustrations and references. Grapes were popular when available, and were also sun-dried to make raisins. Persea Mimusops laurifolia we know from the food left in tombs, as well as pomegranates, which have been found as far back as the 12th Dynasty.

We have even found a watermelon in the New Kingdom tomb of Nebseni. We only know of Egyptian plums from the New Kingdom, and the peach does not show up until the Ptolemaic (Greek) period. Olives were probably bought into Egypt with the Hyksos in the Second Intermediate Period, but walnuts and carob pods (St. John's bread) are only known from the New Kingdom onward.

Meat, Fish and Poultry

While it is difficult to believe that certain meats, such as fish and wild poultry did not show up fairly frequently on the tables of common people, we are told by Egyptologists that it was for the most part only the rich who regularly feasted on most meat. The poor ate geese, ducks, quails, cranes and other species, and from the New Kingdom onward raised domesticated fowl. Most edible fish from the Nile were consumed, though some fish, such as the genera Lepidotus and Phragus and a few others were forbidden because of their connection with the myth of Osiris.

In some locations, even the Nile perch was worshiped, and therefore never eaten. While fish were roasted or boiled, most frequently they were salted and preserved and dried in the sun.

Beef from cattle was frequently eaten by the rich, but appeared on the tables of common people usually only during festive occasions, when a sheep or goat might be slaughtered. We also see from tomb paintings, the preparation of wild game such as antelope, ibex, gazelles and deer. Pork was eaten, though the animal was associated with the evil god Seth. Early on it was widely consumed in Lower Egypt, but rarely in Upper Egypt. Yet we know that pigs were later bred and pork widely eaten throughout Egypt.

Dairy Products

While milk, cheese and butter are not well attested to, at least in text, we certainly believe that the early Egyptians were familiar with all of these dairy products. We do find a number of scenes showing men carrying what appears to be pots of milk or cream, and in one Theban tomb from the 19th dynasty, we find a seated woman pulling white cones of what is probably butter or cheese out of a large vessel.

Fats and Oil 

There were also a number of different oils and fat used in the preparation of food. We know of beef, goat and other fats, and the Egyptian language had 21 different names for vegetable oils obtained from sesame, caster-oil plants, flax seed, radish seed, horseradish, safflower and colocynth. Horseradish oil was particularly popular. Oil and fat was mostly used for frying meat and vegetables, though food was also cooked in milk or butter.


Seasonings and Sweeteners


Sea salt, because of its connection to the evil Seth, was not consumed but salt from the Siwa Oasis was available. Pepper, however, only appears from the Greek period, but other spices were also used, including aniseed, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel, fenugreek, marjoram, mustard and thyme. Sugar itself does not appear in the Egyptian diet until late in history, though honey was used by the rich for a sweetener, but was probably too expensive for the poor.
Common people used various fruits as sweeteners, though the most popular seems to have been dates. Without doubt, because of Egypt's rich soil and lush vegetation, the rich of Egypt probably always ate well, even during times of drought. In the worst of times, common people probably suffered to some extent, but mostly they were probably fed well, though not as lavishly as the rich.
Banquets were frequent, as were various festivals and other celebrations, and at these times, it is likely that everyone enjoyed the bounty of the Black Land. In fact, it is likely that their superior nutrition had much to do with their success in the ancient world.

Common bakeries were not known until the New Kingdom, but larger kitchens were manned for work gangs, the military as well as the royal household and temple personnel. Common meals were often served with beer, or for the very rich, wine. Beer was fermented mostly from wheat, though occasionally stale bread was utilized. Notation: While one may discover "ancient Egyptian recipes" on the internet, text for recipes on cooking food are notoriously absent from the archaeological record.

Egypt - The Mother of the World - part II

 Bismillahi Rahmanu Rahim!

Salam Alaykoum wa Rahmatu Allah wa Barakatoh!

I was thinking to present Egypt like in the usual way... describing and sharing things about Egypt., posting images and videos with famous places  from there.. but no! I changed my mind! I don't want to speak about pyramids, Sphinx, resorts or other touristic stuffs! Everybody knows this! Everybody knows about touristic side even if not all people have seen it! But just a few know what is behind all these things and less more know that Egypt is much more than a Sphinx souvenir or a camel toy or a pyramid necklace!

Today we are going to speak about Egypt from behind pyramids, Egypt that lies in the cities, villages, Egyptian houses, Egyptian markets, streets, Egypt from one normal day at work, Egypt from the day off on Friday, Egypt from the mosques, Egypt from the churches, Egypt from schools... shortly Egypt from each one of your hearts!

I asked my husband and my friends from Egypt to tell me what is the first word that comes into their minds when they think in Egypt. Here what they said:

"Home" - Karim Youssef

"Egypt - history and civilization" - Asmaa Ghoniem

"Egypt is the spirit that the body can't live without it" - Mulan Hafez

"Mother of countries" - Sara Ashraf Ramadan

"Egypt is my life" - Lovely Hearty

"Safe, peace, much love" - Sahar Ali

"History and civilization... long history...so much to tell about it" - Monna 

"Breathtaking" - Asmaa

"Homeee" - Salma Ahmed

I will try to present every of these sentences in the best possible way and I pray to Allah that HE guides me in the right path to do it!

Egypt as Home...

Home is where you feel safe and comfortable, home is where your heart lives in peace, home is where you can breath without choke... but What it means Egypt as home? 

Morning... Al Azan starts... one by one people are moving to the prayer... a new day has come and new things are about to happen and sure there is no time to lose... I open the window and...

"Tid Tid Tid!" I can hear the cars passing on the streets and between them a lot of people are moving to job, school, to their ordinary life activities: "yalla yalla" "aiwaaa" "sabah el hair" - says one and another one answers "Sabah el nour ya Ahmed! Emla eh?" "Alhamdulilallah..." and the voices get lost in the crowd.

I look over the street, just a cross and I see the merchandiser opening his shop and waiting for customers to come. There on the corner of the street, a mother with her child waits the cab to go to school and near to them is my niece waiting the car to take her to school too. She is waving her hand to me, I respond and there she is... she got into the car and bruuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmm to the school.

"Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid" ... yeah someone is in a big hurry after the sound of his car's buzzer... another "TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIID" now he really is pissed of because the cars in front of him don't step away and let him pass. But in fact, all what he will obtain is a painful head ache because of his buzzer. :)))))) You think we should say this to him? Neah.... I let him in peace... beside I am distracted while mama was brought to me the breakfast "Kol ya Bianca habebty"... And I kol (I didn't eat in breakfast from years) coz it is not good to upset mama (shhhhhhhhh she is the big boss as someone was telling me here)...

I get myself dressed coz really I have to arrive to the kindergarten (uh yeah guys... while I was in Egypt for the engagement, I was not behaving like the tourist... I had a normal day life with work, shopping, cooking... usually activities and yes... that happen in those 2 weeks, Allah is my testimony)...

1 -2 -3 ------ 20 looks in the mirror (despite my husband despair :D) and I am ready to purchase. 

We are out of the building and I can feel my husband's hand keeping mine tight so that he be sure I will reach the other side of the street safe... because yes traffic is a chaos like in all big cities... and whenever you hear a big furious TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIID you just move your legs as quick as you can!

And here we are on the other side of the street waiting this time the car to take me to the kindergarten, after we were hunting an opportunity to cross it... I felt like in a safari... or better... a cat in the jungle... hunting my meal... because really traffic is a jungle everywhere in the big cities!

After a long speech from my husband ("call me when you reach the kindergarten" - of course in the first days as in others too I was forgetting to do this so my husband was calling the manager of the kindergarten ... oups!; "if you need something, call me anytime" "call me when you finish the classes and don't go out until I come"; "You are my responsibility and I have to make sure you will return home safe" - well probably some would think that maybe he was exaggerating treating me as a child and others maybe not... but I'm telling you this: when you are in a totally different country, in a big city, where people speak a totally different language that it is not similar to yours... well you are helpless like a child! I have nothing just to thank my husband for his concern for me! Shokran ya Goozy!

Heyyy! My car just arrived (I am speaking like a VIP haahhahhahahaha) so I am leaving to my job...

Egypt breathtaking...

  

While I am in the car, I am feeling like in a movie... I am experiencing now the traffic from inside... but still behind a window... Now the "tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid" sound I can feel it in my ears from all the parts. People in the same hurry, taxi drivers, micro buses... all trying to find a way to escape from the traffic... We are crossing next to the sea and I can feel how my breath is frozen... the infinity of the blue Mediterranean sea water is leaving me speechless... All my view is catch in this infinity blue... I can see on the sea shore boats and far far away a ship crossing... I am looking all behind me because I am really kidnapped by this image.

Safe, peace, much love...

I am done with the classes and as in the other days, my husband arrived to take me from the kindergarten. We walk together hand in hand and I feel so safe while he is with me... in peace... I know that nothing from this world can touch me while my husband is taking care of me because no power is greater and no protection than the real love... Indeed in Egypt there is a lot of love: I have love from my husband, my family from Egypt, my friends and love from the land I am walking on it... this land received me and he recognized me... I came back home!

History and civilization....

Well... here we are in front of a place where I spend almost all my life... except on the times I was sleeping :D... yes yes I admit... I am a library mouse and where a library mouse can go??? to the library!!!!! but not just any library: Alexandrina Library!

After I fixed the thing with the bag (someone here will know about what I am speaking :D), we entered in the library while I was keep looking to everywhere and wondering if it is really true and I am really there... I remember that even when I was in the middle of the books and catch the book, I was still thinking that is the most beautiful dream ever! I even did something so crazy (but if it comes from me you can expect to this :D)... I entered on facebook in that day and write from the library that I am in Alexandrina Library!!!

I saw so many books and even more... extraordinary well organized library, with high technology and ultimate IT dopes! When I look to the pics now, I am pinching myself again... History and technology hand in hand! Alf Mabrouk ya Alexandrina!

Egypt - Mother of the countries...

From all the parts of the world, people from all the countries are coming to Egypt... are coming back to Egypt... some of them return, drink water from the Nil and remained... so yes Egypt is the mother of all the countries... I am the life example... I came... I return and return again... and always return... should I mention here that Romanian people and Egyptian people have connections from the old Antiquity times? well it is true and I will speak about this in another article.

Egypt is my life...

I will apply here the most simple math rule:  I love my husband so much. I love Egypt so much. My husband is my life... so there is no way that Egypt not be too my life! Egypt is the Egyptians themselves. Egypt is life itself!

Egypt is the spirit that the body can't live without it!

I totally agree with this line! I can see and feel, that no matter where is an Egyptian, inside of him is burning the spirit of his country, the most powerful fire from an Egyptian heart!

I feel my soul connected with this fire and kept alive by the great love that I have for Egypt, for my husband, for my family and my friends!

Thank you to all my friends that took a time to give me an idea about the Egypt from their hearts and took a time to read the second part of the article!

Allah hafiz!