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 Hence, though many breads and cakes are known from historical documents, their distinguishing features are in fact unknown.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.

Orfi marriage in Saudi Arabia

It may be the world’s most puritanical kingdom but there are still legal ways to have sexual relationships on the side.

  

Saudi Arabia’s conservative society stands divided on the issue of misyar or orfi, a no-strings marriage of convenience that has become increasingly popular in the kingdom.

Misyar or ORFI is a form of marriage that allows couples to live separately but come together for sexual relations. For the women who accept it – spinsters, divorcees and widows – it’s a something-is-better-than-nothing option, though they waive almost all the rights that a normal Muslim marriage entitles them to. For men it offers an opportunity for a bit of fun on the side, in secret, and at a huge discount.

Reasons for popularity of misyar include the high cost of marriage – the dowry, several dinners, parties, decoration of a flat or a villa and the honeymoon. All this may set back the groom by several hundred thousand riyals. Misyar for cash-strapped men is a boon.

Hamdan, a Saudi man from Jeddah – distraught and depressed after the break-up of his first marriage – entered into a succession of misyar marriages. None lasted for more than six months. He confided that he had hoped to find a compatible partner for a permanent relationship but it didn’t work out. He also said that misyar wives are crafty and inclined to extract money and gifts. In his words: misyar marriages are not cost-effective. He is now married again – in a normal marriage – and hopes to live happily ever after.

Thanks to Bluetooth technology, friendly websites and an abundance of furnished apartments in major cities like Riyadh and Jeddah, there are tales of misyar wives who have clandestinely entered into more than one misyar contract. These enlightened ladies say misyar husbands never tell their full-time wives about their relationships so why can’t misyar wives have similar arrangements? Clerics view this as a dangerous trend.

Website ads for misyar marriages often reveal the immaturity and desperation of those looking for partners:

• Young man, 21, excellent monthly income, seeks marriage as soon as possible to single girls up to 70 kgs, living in Jeddah.
• Saudi clerk, 38, from a well-known family, seeks pretty, white, delicate, businesswoman or clerk for misyar marriage. With Allah’s help, if things work out, the marriage will be official.
• Accountant, 30, seeks misyar marriage with Saudi woman. Age, experience, number of children, widow or single or divorced unimportant. What is important is her ability to satisfy the needs of a man who desires things permitted by religion (halal).

Misyar is popular in the kingdom because in a society where extramarital and premarital sex is a cardinal sin it legitimises sexual relations outside the framework of conventional marriage. It was legalised through a fatwa (religious edict) issued by late Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Baz, then the chief mufti of Saudi Arabia. ‘Urfi (unofficial marriage) in Egypt and muta’h (temporary marriage) in Iran are variations on the same idea.

The Egyptian Centre for Women’s Rights says misyar is an insult to both men and women and a sanction for the trafficking of women. Clerical opinions vary.

Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Qatar-based Egyptian scholar, says:

Misyar should be viewed as a form of legal relationship beween man and woman regardless of any description attached to it … But I do have to make it clear that the aforementioined statement does not make me a protagonist of misyar marriage … There is no doubt that such marriage may be somehow socially unacceptable, but there is a big difference between what is Islamically valid and what is socially acceptable.

Emirates-based scholar Sheikh Ahmad al-Kubaisi says that while misyar marriage is correct Islamically, it also compromises some values. Al-Kubaisi believes that misyar can solve the high rate of spinsterhood in the Arab countries:

The only difference (with a normal marriage) is that the woman abandons voluntarily her right to housing and support money. There is nothing wrong in relinquishing one’s own rights.

In 2006, after years of deliberation and a fair degree of dissent, the Mecca-based Muslim World League’s constituent body, the Islamic Jurisprudence Council ruled that misyar marriage was legal. Samirah, a Saudi media personality (not her real name) described the decision as unfortunate. She thought the jurists had a difficult problem to resolve but this wasn’t the best way out. Rula Dashti, head of the Kuwaiti Economic Society describes misyar as an arrangement that destroys the fundamentals of family. Ghada Jamshir, a Bahraini activist who lobbies for reduction of clerical influence in family affairs, thinks liberals should object to misyar marriages.

To misyar or not to misyar? Saudi society is certainly confused on this issue, as is apparent from the following conversation reported in a Saudi newspaper:

The opinion of some men from the Arabian countries about marriage and girls: ‘Why buy a cow when milk is free?"

With misyar marriage, haven’t we just legalised the ‘why-buy-the-milk-when-the-cow-is-free’ syndrome? And we are supposed to be civilised?

In Islam all acts – including misyar – are judged and will be judged on the merit of motives and intentions.

Urfi Marriage in Egypt: The Issues

Urfi marriage is perhaps one of the most contentious sexuality issues that affects young people in Egypt today. This article brings the issue into perspective. 

'Urfi (Secret) Marriage

Undocumented 'Urfi marriages are increasingly popular among Egyptian youth. The high cost of marriage forces many young couples to wait several years before they marry. Conservative Egyptian society forbids sex before marriage, so many young people consider the 'Urfi marriage a solution. 'Urfi marriages are conducted by a Muslim cleric in the presence of two witnesses. However, they are not officially registered and are not financially binding on the man.

If the shariah defines something, all Muslims must follow that definition. If the shariah is silent on an issue, Muslims should follow the 'Urfi definition. [1] The 'Urfi is a marriage without an official contract. Couples repeat the words, "We got married" and pledge commitment before God. Usually a paper, stating that the two are married, is written and two witnesses sign it [2]. 

Consequences

Couples married in this way often meet in secret and avoid the expense of renting an apartment. The 'Urfi marriage can be disastrous for the wife because if the husband leaves her without granting her a divorce, she had no legal right to seek a divorce since 'Urfi marriage was considered illegal under the old status law. While her husband could remarry, the wife is in a more difficult position. If the wife remarries, she could be accused of polyandry which is punishable by seven years in prison in Egypt. The alternative course of action is for her to remain single for the rest of her life. 

New Personal Status Law

The Egyptian government did not recognize 'Urfi marriages until the year 2000 and the paper from the marriage could be used only to prove the relationship in court. A woman could not get a divorce since the government did not recognize the marriage in the first place. Under the new personal status law passed on January 29, 2000 however, divorces from 'Urfi marriages are now recognized. While the new Egyptian law recognizes the woman's right to seek divorce from an 'Urfi marriage, the law however denies her alimony and child support.

According to Madiha Al Safty , Professor of Sociology at the American University in Cairo, the 'Urfi marriage has always existed, but for different reasons:

"In the past, it was common among the widows of soldiers who had huge pensions and they did not want to lose it by officially re-marrying. Now, however, it is mostly among university students and young couples who cannot afford the high cost of marriage." [3] 

Controversial Forms

There are also controversial, unofficial 'Urfi marriages, where a couple signs documents declaring themselves married. The couple does not inform their families of the marriage. Many Egyptian clerics are against this type of 'Urfi marriage calling it a cover for pre-marital sex. An extreme form of 'Urfi marriage is known as zawag al-'urfi:

"To give prostitution an Islamic cover, some women enter into secret marriage contracts with their summer visitors. Known in Egypt as zawag al-'urfi, this contract is made without witnesses and typically ends in divorce by summer's end. Most of Egypt's Islamic scholars condemn this use of zawag al-'urfi." [4]

Read also these stories:

http://www.ummah.com/forum/showthread.php?259623-Urfi-marriage-leads-to-abandoning-child-.

References

1. Rizvi, S. M. (1994) "Contraceptives and Abortion" (Chapter Four) in Marriage and Morals in Islam http://al-islam.org/m_morals/chap4.htm (accessed July 13, 2005)

2. Allam, A. (2000) Urfi delivers the goods, at half the price, Middle East Times (International Edition) February 18. http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20000218-042017-5260r (accessed on July 13, 2005)

3. Ibid.

4. El-Gawhary, K. (1995) "Sex Tourism in Cairo" in Middle East Report 196, Vol. 25, no. 5, September-October

How you tell him/her "I LOVE YOU"?

How to declare your love in order to get a positive answer? Well first of all you have to be sure that you have the reciprocity. If you don't have no guarantees of that you'd better ask yourself if you are ready to get refused. And if you are not try do get a little bit closer to your object,  to learn more about him or her in order to understand what he or she feels.

If you can't stay silent no more and want to declare your feelings whatever the reaction may follow still try to make in a way that will be the most acceptable for you both and won't only push your object away.

Demonstrative personalities like loud and bright love declarations probably in public. It can be a heap of red roses, or huge inscription on the wall, serenades under the balcony. You may fall on your knees and read a love poem in a loud voice, you can glue your printed love declaration all around, you may appeal to people around telling her (or maybe him) about your feeling. If your object is really one of those people who like to demonstrate their relationships and feelings in public she/he will be impressed by your bravery, imagination and the strength of your feeling (although it's said that only that one who doesn't feel anything can speak about the love in the beautiful words). And if you don't have the reciprocity yet such a declaration can be one step forward to it.

But in an object of your love is shy, modest or just reserved and doesn't like to attract an extra-attention to his/her person this kind of a declaration won't do and you may get a negative answer even if  your object has some kind of a sympathy to you. Words of love said in privacy or whispered in the ear don't loose any bit of their meaning and probably even gain some.

However you would declare your love be sincere, don't try to impress or to take your object by surprise, don't be too pushy, don't ask for a definite answer at the same moment. Just let the one know that you differ him or her from the other people, that he/she means something special and serious for you.

Love declarations usually come naturally when two people are seeing each other for some time already and are quiet sure about the feelings of each other. Nobody gets prepared to declare his/her love to a partner. it usually comes all of a sudden, by some impulse or just by the way. And when couple has a long-lasting relationships everyday small signs of attention, care and support will say more than all love poems in the world, though such romantic love declarations are very nice either.

By the way if you are shy or can't find the words to say about your love you can always do by any means of communication which are plenty today, though only after oral love declaration you can observe the very first reaction and expect the most sincere answer.

If you hear "no" in the an answer to the declaration of your feeling don't loose your hope all at once (exception is when your object starts laughing in your face). You may ask him/her to stay friends, to meet sometimes for a coffee and a chat. Don't complain, whine or get glued, be pleasant and try to keep some contact. Most people can't stay completely indifferent to a person who has distinguished them from all other. The one who's listened to your declaration can starts looking at you more attentively because you are the one who sees in him ore her some features of which the others probably have no idea. Who knows maybe later on this interest may turn to a sympathy or something more or otherwise you may study your object of love better, see it's real face beyond your fantasies and start feeling a little less in love.

One more question about love declarations: who is supposed to do it first? Traditionally it's men who declare their feelings first and it's women who sigh out in answer a languid "yes". Nowadays both men and women are free to speak about their love and feelings first. Of cause the traditions aren't totally overcome in people's mind. Women often are too shy or too proud to do it firsts. Men usually don't know how to behave in the answer and what to do, they may even get scared and push the woman away. And women are less prepared to hear "no" and can get deeply hurt by it. Just is you feel you're unable to conceal your feelings no longer, declare them but mind that your object doesn't get responsible for you after it.