Bread

The Local Bakery

"That's the greatest thing since sliced bread!"  I have come to appreciate this saying that my grandma used to use.  Here in our city, there is no sliced bread.  There are three kinds:  1) Aish misr ["Egypt Bread" which is a round flat bread baked with white flour] 2) Aish shams ["Sun Bread" is a thicker round bread about 2" tall] and 3) Aish baladee ("National Bread" which is pretty much the same as Egyptian bread except it is made with wheat flour.)

In Cairo, you can purchase any one of these breads along with the sliced bread that I'm most familiar with…While we were in Cairo, I decided to purchase a loaf of bread and take it back with us so that I could show the wrapper to one of the local stores in hopes of enticing them to begin carrying it.

John babied the loaf through the airport, plane, bus and back home.  Once we had eaten through it, I took the wrapper with me on our errands with Sadik.

We stopped at a little store that specializes in imported goods.  I took the wrapper out and showed the cashier.  He said, "We cannot get this.  It is finished here.  No bus."  I didn't quite understand what he was saying so I asked Sadik.  He further explained that the bread I liked had been here before but the ONE truck that transported it from Cairo to here no longer made the trip.  So it is finished."

I shrugged and thought, "Well, it was worth a shot."  John had a list of hardware parts he needed for the ongoing repairs he makes in our home.  Sadik had stopped at a place he needed and they hopped out.  I noticed a place selling aish baladee so I hopped out and got in line.  The "bakery" only sells this one particular bread.  It has two windows, one for women and one for men.  I walked up to the line of women and greeted them in Arabic.  They all froze and then smiled broadly.

I shook each of their hands and then asked them how much 10 pieces of bread would be.  They told me 5 Egyptian pounds (70 cents).  I pulled out my money and waited because it was quite the line.  One lady looked at me and took my money then passed it through the window to the baker.  He began stacking the 10 pieces of bread and asked for a tray.  I looked at each woman.  They ALL had bags or trays for the bread they ordered.  I stood there with only a smile and empty hands.  They clucked their tongues and began grabbing the hot bread and placing it on one of their trays. 

Sadik saw what was happening and came over to investigate.  He took the now full tray from them and opened his trunk.  He picked up the hot bread from the tray and began tossing it in the back of the trunk.  I told him that I found an empty bag he could use.  He shook his head and said no.  If you stack the bread while it's hot it becomes sweaty and it's no good.  So he flipped the breaded frisbees into the car until the tray was empty.  I walked back to the group of ladies and thanked them for their help.  

They were talking among themselves about the "foreigner who speaks beautiful Arabic."  They were too kind.  I know what kind of Arabic I speak.  It's barely comely.  The baker yelled through the window for more money.  I asked him for what.  He said, "Backsheesh!"  It's like asking for a tip.  I laughed and said, "For bread?!  No backsheesh today."

The ladies all laughed and gave me a high five.  I think they were proud of me and the fact that I knew that a baker did not get a tip.  The baker shrugged and I'm sure he thought, "It was worth a shot."

I returned to the car laughing and thinking about the bread that was being flung all through the trunk as Sadik wound his way to our next stop.  Periodically Sadik would laugh and say, "Backsheesh!"  He was proud of me, too.  Now he has two things that make him laugh…John and his 7th chair negotiation and Pam and her unwillingness to pay backsheesh to the baker.  He must have some great stories to tell his family at night.

So it's not sliced bread, but no matter.  Bread is a symbol of daily life…everyone eats it, shares it and we get to take part in this life, too.  It makes Jesus' words all the more poignant when He said, "I am the Bread of Life."  We're thankful to be able to be here and to break bread and share Bread every day with these dear friends.  

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Today's BOGO Blog:  Dust to Dust