In Egypt, bread is so much more than something to eat, it is life itself and plays an essential role in Egyptian culture.
Most days on Nasr street you can find a few old ladies begging and they are always polite and grateful for whatever modest offering I leave them. One morning recently, I apologized to one lady I’d given to before that I didn’t have any change to offer, but as I was going to the stall at the end of the road to get some aish baladi, traditional Egyptian flat breads, I thought I’d get her a pack of ten as well. No great investment at around 30c and it’s half that for much of the population who have government subsidy cards. On handing it to her, uttering the traditional blessing, “rabenna ba’eklik” (God bless you) she promptly burst into tears, offering a stream of profuse Islamic blessings in return. Ever since, her face has always lit up into a big smile when she sees me, greeting me warmly whether I donate anything or not.
Aish baladi, traditional Egyptian flat breads. When baked the two layers separate, puffing up as you see here
Regardless of what I’ve ever offered the poor in Egypt, or anywhere else for that matter, I’ve never received such an emotional response. There’s no doubt that this is due to the central role bread has played in life here since antiquity, it’s a symbol of something more than financial value. This is in another league to the Englishman’s love of potatoes and even, dare I say it, maybe a step ahead of the role of rice for many Asians. (If only I was a big Twitter personality this kind of statement would no doubt generate tirades of abuse and vitriol).
A bread oven disgorges it’s creations
In pre-dynastic graves over 5000 years old, funerary offerings of bread have been discovered and other evidence in the region suggests that bread making goes back much further. In the time of the pharaohs Egyptians had 117 words for bread, which implies a far greater variety than that on offer today. Ever since it has remained a central part of Egyptian diet. The fertility of the Nile valley allowed the abundant production of wheat and grains that could be exported, contributing to the wealth and long term stability of the country, so much so that bread has come to symbolise prosperity.
So central is it to Egyptian culture that the words in Egyptian Arabic for bread and life are one and the same, aish. The traditional style of flatbread, aish baladi, has hardly changed since ancient times and remains an obligatory part of every meal, often used instead of cutlery to pick up morsels of food to eat with the hands.
The morning bread queuing ritual
Morning queues outside little, local bakeries are a ritualistic part of Egyptian life: a chance to chat with the neighbours, keep up with the gossip and stagger away laden with an unfeasibly huge heap of fresh, steaming flat breads. Some may have succumbed to the convenience of the freezer and microwave, particularly for the middle classes but in more working class districts the daily queues are a guaranteed phenomenon and likely to remain so.
So, my humble offering to the lady begging in the street represented far more than what money could offer, it was an expression of Egyptian culture, infused with millennia of history, a gift of life itself.
