It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Ramadan

There was a time years ago – pre-marriage and kids – when I got a really great idea.  What if I spent a week or two working in each of the shops found in nearly every commercial area in Cairo.  Sort of like a series of internships.  A week at a fuul and ta’ameya restaurant.  Another week at a juice stand.  Yet another week at a drygoods store.  What better viewpoint into Egyptian economy, society, and culture than from the shipship of someone like a nut roaster?

(Dive into a mountain of lib (seeds) at your local maqla)

Yes, the nut roastery – the maqla – was chief among the shops I wanted to infiltrate.  Not only do I love nuts, but the maqla is just so exotic, especially during Ramadan.  Like the appearance of candy canes in the old familiar song, one look at your local maqla and you’ll know that Ramadan is approaching.  I know I look for it every year in my neighborhood of al-Arab.  Overnight, the Abu Barein nut shop is transformed into a Ramadan wonderland.  Bunting – made of that traditional fabric you find at the Tentmakers Souq – adorns the storefront and the annex erected outside the shop to accommodate the influx of special Ramadan nuts and candies.

(Walls cannot contain the deliciousness)

Aside from high-end specialty items like oversized roasted cashews and plump golden raisins, you’ll find bins full of one of my favorite regular maqla treats – the semsemiya.  Essentially sesame seeds glued together by corn syrup, the semsemiya is my go-to “healthy” snack.  Standard items like seeds and peanuts are also for sale year-round.  I used to buy a kilo of unsalted peanuts nearly every week and blend them into peanut butter for my kids.  What the employees of my local maqla thought about my mass consumption of unsalted peanuts, I don’t know.  Mystified, akeed.

(Ramadan is in the air!)

While the maqla may be the first indicator, your neighborhood will also undergo a Ramadan glow-up.  Look for a fanuus hanging confidently above your street, affixed to banners strung between the buildings. 

(Light the fanuus, it’s Ramadan time!)

You can buy your own fanuus, and other key Ramadan decorative items, almost anywhere.  I, however, like to recommend a trip to the Ramadan market.  Located near el-Ataba, the Ramadan market is the Egyptian version of Santaland, featuring shop after shop of Ramadan kitsch.  You’ve got to see it, even if you don’t celebrate Ramadan. 

(Souq al-Barabara, AKA the Ramadan Market)

Or you could just visit your local maqla.  That may be all the Ramadan you need.  Buy some roasted nuts, semsemiya, lib, or chicabon (knock-off M&Ms).   And who knows; maybe they could use an extra pair of hands during the holiday season.  If so, let me know, and I’ll meet you there!