One of the blessings of living in Los Angeles is what a diverse place it is; a great watering hole of people and cultures from around the world. With that diversity comes a network of friends with contacts around the world. Case in point: I was treated to a lovely homemade dinner and Egyptian hospitality in Alexandria, thanks to a friend in LA.
Egyptian Hospitality In Historic Alexandria
My church, like much of Los Angeles, is an incredibly diverse place. While I do not view diversity as inherently good or bad, I do love that a great potential upside to diversity is the mix of worldview, culture, cuisine, and lifestyle that invite conversation, contemplation, and greater understanding.
There’s a young Egyptian man who attends my church. He works for Chase and we’ve become friends. He’s a great guy and always invites me to Egypt. Well, when I was in Egypt I could not help but let him know. He responded immediately by imploring me to visit his parents, who lived in Alexandria. So I said yes.
Soon his mother and father messaged me on WhatsApp, telling me that they were waiting for me and had prepared a spare bedroom for me. That was an immediate window into Egyptian hospitality. Even though I explained I was staying at the Four Seasons across town, they could not understand why I would not stay with them. If I return, I promised I would stay with them.
I took a cab over to their house for dinner, located several stories up in a high-rise apartment building. Their apartment was lovely and we sat outside on the patio to eat dinner, coincidentally just as the Adhan began marking the sunset and start of Iftar.
Dinner included homemade bread with soft cheese, chicken, and fresh fruit plus homemade Knafeh for dessert.
The food was great and the fellowship sweet.
After an extended conversation, we took an old Lada taxi to their church, which they proudly showed me and was really quite a beautiful place hidden in a rather industrial neighborhood.
CONCLUSION
It’s one thing to stay at the Four Seasons, but quite another to eat in the home of a local. I was thankful for the chance to break bread with a lovely family in Alexandria, Egypt and hope to return to their home…next time with my luggage!
