Egypt

Text and photos courtesy of Dr. Kim Yang and Students of BigAppleTree.

Greetings from Sherif Mohamed Elkhatib in Egypt!

A group of Taiwanese students volunteering for BigAppleTree asked these questions of Sherif Mohamed Elkhatib who lives in Egypt.

Students: What do people in Egypt usually eat?

Sherif: First, I want to say many thanks to you [Dr. Yang] and your nice students, hoping to meet you and them face to face one day.  People here in Egypt usually eat many kinds of vegetables and fruits, beef and chicken.  We do not eat pork and ham because about 90% of Egyptian people believe in Islam, and pork is forbidden in Islam.  Women here cook many kinds of food for meals.  The famous ones are named Mahshy, Molokhya, Taamya.  Egyptian people also like many kinds of fish.

Students: What does the name Egypt mean?

Sherif: Egypt is just a name, it has no meaning.  Egypt is the English name but the name in Arabic is Mesr Mesr and it is a very, very old name.

Students: What do Egyptians do in their free time?

Sherif: On holidays, people visit their relatives and travel.  In summer, they go to beaches, play games, watch T.V. and so on.

Students: What age to Egyptians start to wear turbans?  And what is the special meaning of wearing turbans?

Sherif (laughed): Most Egyptians do not wear turbans, but many farmers in upper-Egypt wear turbans to protect them from the sun in the summer and from the cold weather in the winter.

Students: What is the favorite fruit in Egypt?

Sherif: Mango, orange, banana, apple, date, grapes and watermelon.

Students: Thank you very much!

Sherif: You all are welcome.

From the Students in Taiwan:

We have learned from this interview with Sherif that life in Egypt does not differ much from our country.  We found that people in Egypt are very friendly to foreigners.  Sherif has his own postcard group for adults and hobby collectors.  He also cares about world awareness and peace as much as we do.

Sincerely,
Students in Taiwan