Fuwa and Desuk

Monday night, my roommate, Eman, invited me to come to her house with her, so of course I agreed to ditch my classes and head over with her to meet her family and see her baled, her home town.
Eman lives in Kofr El Sheikh, the same province as Gehad (the same one as the wedding) and grew up in the same town as Gehad, Desuk, but moved when she was a little older to the town next door called Fuwa. All of these towns are right on the Nile.
So on Tuesday, we got up and took a minibus (sort of like a Sheirut in Israel) and first stopped in Metubis, where her brother Mustafa, picked us up. First stop: the market to buy dessert. Then, while we were driving to Fuwa, Mustafa pulled over, got out of the car, and made me drive for about 5 minutes. I was terrified but handled it like a rockstar and drove Egyptian style all over the place (keep in mind for 5 minutes) but I was passing people and honking like a true Egyptian! It was awesome.
So, we drove from Metubis to Fuwa to Eman's house and met her sister, Elham, there and we all sat and ate lunch together, and since it was about a million degrees, we hung inside for a few hours to beat the sun.
Once the weather got a little more tolerable, Mustafa took the 3 of us on a driving tour of Fuwa and Desuk. First, we went to a bridge that overlooked the Nile and had a little photo shoot there.

This is Eman and Elham (Elham is the one in orange).


Next, we went to a little park and then on a boat ride on the Nile, where we had photo shoot number two! It was very pleasant and had really nice views.


Here's the 3 siblings (there are more of them but who were not present at this gathering).


We also went and walked around the city a bit and saw the huge mosque there and just saw what street life is like.


Eman's family owns a piece of land next to the Nile where the family grows bananas, honey, meluchia (a very Egyptian vegetable and dish), tomatoes, lemons, and all kinds of things. So we went and watched the sunset on their piece of land.



Next, we drove around for the rest of the night. We went and saw the gate that Mohammed Ali (the conquerer, not the boxer) built in Fuwa, had some tea at a restaurant on the Nile, tried to crash a wedding (but didn't because it was still too early) and then went to her Great Aunt's house. Her Great Aunt (Ama Maryam) lives with 2 of her kids who each have families, so we got there, and she stuffed my face with melon and grapes and all kinds of drinks, and we got to play with little kids. There was a set of 3 year old twins, a boy and a girl, and they all loved playing with forks and the little girl had the cutest smile and laugh ever. There was also a 1 year old and a 9 year old. It was really nice to hang out with a family and talk to them a lot. They were all so welcoming and wonderful and were trying to get us to stay until the next day to each lunch with them, and were just great. But alas, we had to leave for the next day I was going to Siwa. So after a long night, we went back to Eman's house, had homemade pizza for dinner, and went to sleep.

Overall, it was awesome to meet Eman's family and see where she's from and actually get to walk around and see the countryside.

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فوة وديسوق
ليلة يوم الاتنين، ايمان، البنت اللي معايا في الاوضة عازمتني لبيتها لليلة، وانا طبعا اتفقت وفاتت فصولي وروحت معاها وقابلت اسرتها وشوفت بلدها. ايمان ساكنة في كوفر الشيخ، نفس البلد زاي جيهاد (بلد الفرح) وهي كبرت في نفس البلد زاي جيهاد اسمه ديسوق، ولكن انتقلت لما هي كانت اكبر في السن الى بلد حنب ديسوق اسمه فوة. كل البلاد دول على النيل.
التلات، ركبنا مشروع ووقفنا اولا في متوبيس، حيث اخوها، مستفى، اقلنا. المحطة الاولى كانت في السوق واسترينا حلويات. ولما كنا بنسوق، مستفى سوق العربية في الناحية التانية، سابها، وقال لي "سوقي!" وانا سوقت جمس دقايق. وكنت خايفة جدا، ولكن عملت كويسة جدا وسوقت زاي مصرية بالضبط (بس خمس دقايق).
وسوقنا من متوبيس الى فوة الى بيت ايمان وقابلنا اختها، الهام، وكلنا قعدنا واتغدنا، والعشان كان حار جدا، قعدنا في بيتها ساعات كتيرة. ولما الجو بقى اكتر متعدل، مستفى اوصلنا في جولة فوة وديسوق. اولا، روحنا جسر وشوفنا منظر النيل وصورنا صور كتيرة.

دول ايمان والهام (الهام لابسة برتقان).

بعدين، روحنا جنينة صغيرة وبعدين ركتنا مركب على النيل، وصورنا اكتر صور. كان جميل جدا والمناظر كانت حلوة.
دول الاخاوان (في اكتر منهم ولكن ما كانوش موجودين)
روحنا كمان حول المدينة وشوفنا جامع كبير وشوفنا الحاية في الشواريع. اسرة ايمان تملك ارض جنب النيل وهم يمنوا موز، واسل، ملوخية (اكل شعبي مصري جدا)، تاماتس، ليمون، وحاجات كتيرة جدا. واتفرجنا على المغرب.
بعدين، سوقنا في المدينة كتيرة. روحنا بوابة بنيها محمد على في فوة، شربنا شاي في مطعم جنب النيل، حاولنا نروح فرح (لكن لسة كان بدري) وروحنا بيت عامتها. عامتها (عامة مريام) ساكنة مع اتنين من اولادها وعندهم اسر، وروحنا بيتها وهي ادتني اكل كتير (عنب وفواكة) ومشروبات، ولعبت مع اطفال. كان في توام عمرهم ٣ سنين، واحد كان ولد وواحدة بنت، وهم بيحبوا يلعبوا والبنت كانت كاتكوتا وكان عندها باسم جميلة! وكان طفل عمره سنة واحدة وايضا ولد عمره ٩ سنين. كان لطيف جدا اكون مع اسرة واتكلام معاهم كتير. هم كانوا كاريمين ولطاف وكانوا عيازين احنا نبقي ونتغدا معاهم اليوم اللى جاي. ولكن، كنا لازم نمشي بدري في الصبح. وبعد ليلة طويلة، روحنا بيت ايمان واكلنا بيزة ونمنا.
بشكل عام، كنت مبسوطة اقابل اسرة ايمان واشوف هي منين وامشي في الريف.