A large crowd gathered at the Gladstone Regional Libraries last week to learn about Egypt.

Dalia gave us all a wonderful glimpse of Egyptian culture through the lens of food, feasting, and fasting. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (sawm), prayer (salah), reflection, and community.

We learned of the wonderful sense of community around breaking the fast of Ramadan, where people from all levels of society gather to share food regardless of their religion, status or background.
Dalia says ‘If we are sad, if we are happy, if we are planning to travel, if we go to an event, It’s all about food. This traces back to Ancient Egypt”

Food links through the history of Egypt and some of the phrases common to the country can seem odd but still make sense and prove how universal some understandings are.
الطريق لقلب جوزك معدته
The way to your husband’s heart is his stomach
اللي اتلسع من الشوربة ينفخ في الزبادي
Those who get hurt from hot soup will blow on cold yoghurt in order not to get hurt again.

If you would like to share things like this about your own culture and do a presentation, we would love to hear from you!

Our next Culture Café in Gladstone is Wednesday June 5th. Start the conversation with us by emailing Stel (stel@integreatqld.org.au)

Our Culture Cafe is made possible with funding from Australia Post, and in partnership with the Gladstone Regional Libraries and Friends of Library.