Tea After Dinner in the Salon: Sunday (Nov. 11), Mike and I had Nazli Rizk and Nahla and Nagy Fathy over for dinner. Dinner was catered from Abou Shakra, a chain with the branch near us being the oldest in Cairo. We had assorted dolmas, pasta with chicken, vine leaves, mixed grill (kofta, kebab, shish tawouk), stuffed pigeon, tropical chicken grill, and bread. Following the main course, we had a break for tea and talk to let our dinner settle before we had dessert. Nahla related how Muslims and Christians lived amicably side-by-side in her childhood neighborhood of Shubra. When the wife of a Christian neighbor became ill, Nahla's mother nursed her baby. She also recounted that, when she reported her car stolen at the local police station just a couple days after January 1 (2012), it was already listed as record number 89 in the suburb of New Maadi, where she and Nagy live. Nazli mentioned that her father had a close friend from the Muslim Brotherhood; and he visited the friend and offered assistance even while his colleague was imprisoned. Their two families went on vacation together at El Cabanon, when he was eventually freed. Nazli (14 yr. at the time) was very good friends with the youngest daughter (5 yr. old), who couldn't understand how serious a situation Nazli's quickly sinking knee-deep into a muddy area was. Nazli was finally able to free herself. She also mentioned that she thought the country was turning more inward compared to the era of her school days (1950s-60s), when Egypt seemed open to modernization. Our guests outshone us in the area of after dinner sweets. While we offered ice cream, Nazli brought a homemade cocoa cake of wonderful moistness. Nahla and Nagy provided a huge tray of Middle Eastern delicacies from an oriental bakery chain, La Reine. They were superb. We were kept busy sampling all of the varieties. The meal indeed turned into quite a feast.
Nagy related the story behind the famous Egyptian dessert, Um 'Ali. Legend has it that Um 'Ali was the first wife of the Sultan Ezz El Din Aybek. In Egypt, women were not allowed to rule but were permitted to be guardians to their sons, who would become king when they came of age. When the sultan died, his second wife had a dispute with Um 'Ali over whose son would be the successor to the sultan. The second wife was heavily guarded making it difficult for Um 'Ali to dispose of her. Um 'Ali hatched a plot bribing the second wife’s handmaids. While the second wife went to the hammam for a bath, she was beaten to death, by the slippers of her own handmaids! To celebrate her death, Um 'Ali made this dessert and distributed it among the people of the land. Struggles for succession could be treacherous in periods of Egyptian history. Mike and I enjoyed a great evening visiting with and getting to know our friends.
Mike and Nagy playing chess.
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