Meet My Neighbours

On my first day in my apartment I looked at my empty shelves and decided to go to a small shop near my building to see what I could purchase for dinner. I was greeted by a smiling face of the shop owner, Abd Alla, and welcomed to Aswan and his shop wholeheartedly. Abd Alla, his wife, Fatma, and two children, Mohamed and Mena, have welcomed me into their home, and made my stay in Aswan much happier and more comfortable.

Here is a picture of Abd Alla and Fatma inside their home as we paused to take a picture during my first home-cooked Egyptian meal. Fatma made this delicious array of salad and maHshi (I’m guessing how to spell it) - stuffed paprika peppers and other vegetables. Not as good as Mom’s cooking, but still “lazeez”! (Delicious!) Abd Alla and Fatma have also been trying to teach me Arabic, and in return I am trying to help them improve their English. Learning Arabic is a slow process, but I am trying to learn a few new words every day.
After lunch (which is the main meal of the day served in the late afternoon) Fatma took me to her mother-in-law’s part of the flat to visit more of their relatives. I was treated to some very hot fiteer straight out of the clay oven outside! This was very “lazeez”!!! Fiteer is a flaky pastry topped, in this case, with sugar, and baked in an oven. Fatma’s mother-in-law showed me how she and another woman were making the pastry on small tables outside and then baking them in the clay oven. A wonderful and very tasty experience! Shukran (thank you) J