Around The World With Sara

EGYPT ADVENTURES 2015

FAMILY VISIT #TWO

This time it is Safaa’s family we are to visit. On the day after the Khamsin ended under a clear and vibrant sky,

A Windswept Clean Sky

Safaa, Doaa and I set out across Cairo to Nasr City to visit the youngest of Safaa’s 5 sisters and her favorite.

Cairo and the surrounding neighborhoods is so huge and the traffic so thick it takes us over an hour to reach our destination. In Cairo where there are two lanes the drivers of the cars make it into three lanes! This means the cars weave in and out of very tight spaces. It is totally amazing there are not more accidents, but you rarely see one.

Salon

Arriving at Safaa’s sister’s I am, once again, greeted with warmth and as one of the family. Entsar nicknamed Noussa told me she has heard so much about me she feels she knows me and is so glad to finally meet me. Their flat is very lovely as you can see here.

Much of the visit is spent laughing and cooking.

Cooking

When her husband, Mohamed (he is one of Hassan’s cousins) arrives he begins to cook too. Safaa started the Babganouh (an eggplant garlic dish for dipping bread) and I was writing down what she did so I can make it that way at home. When Mohamed arrived he finished it and was so fast I could not keep up, so Doaa helped me.

Mohamed Cooking Macaroni YUM!!!

The end product was to die for.

Since I was considered part of the family, Safaa insisted we can eat in the living room like the family does instead of the dining room table. That is very special and I feel so good to be accepted this way. This picture shows the feast. See the five dishes in the closest left hand foreground? This is what was given to me to eat!!!!

My Dishes Of Food

As I ate pieces of meat, Mohamed would add more to my plate. Finally I had to beg him to stop. I ate more at that one meal than I have all week!!! No way could I finish it all.

After dinner the women all gathered in the kitchen to clean. As we cleaned we danced - belly danced! I was given finger cymbols and a scarf with gold disks tied around my hips as we all danced.

Safaa Dancing With Pot

At one point Safaa put a pot on her head and danced while balancing it. So much fun and laughter!!!

Then Noussa made a chocolate cake which we ate hot out of the oven with a bittersweet chocolate ganache over it. Yum!!! After that she asked if she could paint my fingernails. Here is the result.