More than 4,000 tourists from 50 countries have enjoyed the
food route that runs through the center of Cairo
since Laila Hassaballa and Mariam Nezar launched Bellies En-Route in 2016 to taste traditional Egyptian food at street level.
"Discovering the
aromas and flavors
of a country like Egypt is as important as visiting its main monuments", commented both co-founders, and highlighted the uniqueness of trying the main recipes that go unnoticed in the most prominent guides and that are part of the daily menu
. of the Egyptians
.
Pioneers of a private business
Bellies En-Route is a benchmark in the sector of gastronomic routes
in the heart of Cairo, which started seven years ago with three or four tours a week, overcame the general stoppage of the coronavirus and
obtained the Travellers' Choice 2022 recognition from TripAdvisor
, which positioned it as the best in the country.
The food tour stops at a coffee shop where they also roast and grind the beans.
Photo EFE/Rosa Soto
"When we started we were surprised that there were no food tours offered, that there were hardly any food-related tourism experiences in Egypt when so much of Egyptian culture is based on eating," Nezar explained.
Discovering this
niche in the market
was key to starting this business from scratch, especially for two young Egyptian women from the field of graphic design with no previous experience in tourism.
"The biggest challenge was setting up a company in Egypt, it's not easy in terms of bureaucracy. We had to find a lawyer to do the procedures the right way," Hassaballa said.
Then it was difficult to gain the trust of the restaurants with which they collaborate and that of the public: "I don't think we face challenges because we are women, the biggest challenge was to enter a totally unknown world and with a new concept because nobody knew what we were I didn't even understand what our business was about," he added.
Now they present
Egyptian culinary history
in their tours of small traditional establishments six days a week with a maximum of
six tours per day in high season and up to three in the low season.
Rice, broad beans, brinjal and spinach are some of the Egyptian staples.
Photo EFE/Rosa Soto
Egyptian dishes
The
tour of the "Downtown"
(central district of El Cario) begins in the symbolic
Tahrir Square
, with the history of the revolution that shook the Arab country in 2011, and continues through adjacent streets in which a mixture of architectural styles follows one another. French and English influence.
During the
almost five-hour tour
, tourists stop at seven traditional Egyptian food establishments, with
vegetarian, vegan and adapted to intolerance and allergy options
.
In them they will try dishes such as
koshari
, considered the national dish that combines macaroni, spaghetti, noodles, lentils, rice, hummus and onions with tomato sauce and a special garlic and vinegar dressing called "da'ah".
Koshari, the national dish of Egypt.
Combine spaghetti, macaroni, noodles, lentils, chickpeas, tomato sauce, and broth.
Photo EFE/Rosa Soto
There will also be
"sougok"
, a beef sausage sautéed with onion, tomato and green pepper, nor the
"ful"
(crushed broad bean) sandwiches, or the
"taamiya"
, the Egyptian falafel based on "ful" with fennel , onion, garlic, tons of fresh cilantro and spices.
For the more adventurous, the tasting of fried cow's brain
is included
, as well as hibiscus, guava and melon juices, Arabic coffee and typical sweets such as
"basbusa"
, a mixture of semolina and ground almonds in syrup.
All this accompanied by explanations about the recipe offered by the guide, Amir Bishara, who makes the tour a pleasant, fun adventure full of curiosities until the end, the terrace of the Carlton hotel with views of the entire center.
A fruit and vegetable shop in Cairo.
Photo EFE/EPA/KHALED ELFIQI
Growing
The success of Bellies En-Route allowed the team to expand to 16 people and
launch another route in the Cairo neighborhood of Heliópolis, where the dishes stand out for a fusion of typical flavors with more modern touches.
Hassaballa and Nezar will launch tours in French by the end of the year and
plan to run tours in Spanish as well
, although they are now in English because most of their clients come from "the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Kenya, Norway, Japan, China, Iraq or Morocco".
With all this, they want
to put Egyptian gastronomy on the international map
, since "if you think of Middle Eastern food, you think of Lebanese and Moroccan food, that's all. You never think of Egyptian food," Hassaballa says.
Rosa Soto / EFE
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