Kinds of Egyptian tea

- Shai sada : Sugarless tea

- Shai sokkar zeyada : Extra sugar tea

- Shai mazboot : Just right sugar

- Shai koshari : Water is boiled first then tea is added

- Shai fel khamseen : Tea in a little glass or cup

- Shai el sokkar maa nafso : Sugar is not dissolved in tea

- Shai bel haleeb : Milk is added to tea

- Shai nubi ( Nubian tea ) : Heavy tea with very little milk added

Egyptian food recipe : Koshary pasta

This meatless dish layers common grains, such as rice, lentils and pasta with a tomato-cinnamon flavored sauce

Ingredients
2 cups cooked rice

2 cups cooked penne pasta

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon Ground Cumin , divided

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1 cup cooked lentils

1 can (15 ounces) crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper

3 medium yellow squash, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)

2 medium onions, thinly sliced (about 2 cups), optional*
Instructions
1. Combine rice and pasta; spoon in bottom of shallow serving platter. Keep warm.

2. Whisk together vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, and garlic powder in a medium bowl. Add cooked lentils and stir to combine. Spoon over rice and pasta.

3. Combine tomatoes, water, sugar, cinnamon, salt, remaining 1/2 teaspoon cumin and red pepper in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat about 5 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Stir in squash. Spoon tomato mixure over lentil layer. Partially stir tomato mixture into other layers, but do not completely combine all layers. If desired, prepare crisp-brown onions as directed below and add as a topping.

*Cook onions in large skillet with 1 tablespoon oil over high heat, stirring frequently, until brown and slightly crispy, about 10 minutes.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 169, Fat: 1 g, Cholesterol: 0 mg, Sodium: 281 mg, Carbohydrates: 34 g, Protein: 7 g

Extracted from : Touregypt.net

How to dye hair with Henna

Natural Henna Hair Recipe

How to mix and apply henna to hair

Important
1) Always start off with freshly shampooed hair. If you use a lot of styling products, then use a clarifying shampoo, or use a diluted vinegar rinse after you shampoo. DO NOT use a conditioner. Make sure that you shampoo your hair just prior to applying the henna. If you wait too long to apply the henna after you shampoo, your natural scalp oils may inhibit the dye in the henna from reaching your roots.

2) Henna is permanent! If you've never used henna on your hair before, it is recommended that you perform a strand test to see what color you will get. To do this, either snip a small bit of hair from a place on your head that's not real noticeable or harvest hair from your hairbrush. Prepare a small amount of henna per the instructions below, and place the hair in the henna for 2 to 4 hours. Rinse the hair off with water and allow to sit for 48 hours. Henna needs time to oxidize (darken), and usually in 48 hours it will show it's final color. No 2 people will end up with the exact same color.

3) Henna only comes in one color.....red. The shades of red may vary depending upon what country the crop is grown in, but there is no such thing Black henna, Blond henna, etc. Any henna that is labeled as such, has other ingredients in it besides pure henna.

4) You cannot lighten hair with henna. If your hair is naturally dark brown or black, henna will give it auburn highlights, but it will not lighten it.

Preparing the henna, Gather the following

Towels (use old ones, they will get stained
Plastic bowl
Large spoon for stirring
Plastic cling wrap
Acidic liquid such as lemon juice, apple cider vinegar or orange juice (if desired

Water (preferably filtered
Dry henna powder, enough for your length of hair
Tint brush or carrot bags or bottle with a nozzle tip
Disposable latex or vinyl gloves

Place the dry henna powder in the bowl. Add a small amount of the acidic liquid to the powder and enough water to make a paste that is the consistency of yogurt. Stir well to remove lumps. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let set until the dye releases from the henna, usually around 12 hours at 70 degrees F (21 degrees C). After the dye has released, you can put the henna into a carrot bag or a bottle with a nozzle tip, for easier application, if desired.

Drape towel around shoulders to protect clothing and cover surfaces of the area that you will be in when you apply your henna. Put on the gloves. To apply henna, section hair and apply it to one section at a time until all of your hair is covered, making sure that you get it all the way down to the roots.

After you have your hair covered with the henna, wrap your hair in plastic wrap, then cover it with a shower cap. It's important to keep the henna moist while it is processing. Allow it to remain on the hair for 2 to 4 hours. Rinse out with water. Shampoo and condition if desired.

Tips
To make removal of the henna easier, use some cheap conditioner. Rinse the henna with water, then work some conditioner in and rinse again. Repeat if necessary.

To speed up the processing time, use heat, such as a bonnet style hair dryer or a heat cap. For every 30 minutes of heat applied reduce the processing time by 1/2.

Henna will stain. Make sure to clean up and spills immediately, and wear old clothes when applying.

If your scalp is sensitive or your hair is normally dry, use orange juice for your acidic liquid, or don't use any acidic liquid at all, just use water.

If your henna is too bright after 48 hours have passed, you can do another application.

If your hair color is getting too dark, try applying it to the roots only when you do touch-ups

Extracted from : Mehndi skin art distributor

Sleepless...1957 famous movie

Laa anaam , ( sleepless )....one of the very important signs in Egyptian cinema , with a lot of goodlooking and excellent superstars starring in it..it is based on the famous egyptian author Ahsaan AbdelKoddoos's famous masterpiece

Nadiya (Faten Hamama ) is an eighteen years old rich spoilt child , her parents are divorced ever since she was just a little child of two years old , and till then , she lived with her father Ahmed Lotfy ( Yehia Shaheen ) , who gave her all his love and care

Then , when Nadiya leaves school , her father marries Safeyya (Mariam Fakhreldeen ) , and here , Nadiya's life totally changes

Nadiya feels like she's not all her father's thoughts now , she feels jealous of Safeyya who is a very attractive character..she is a very loyal wife to Ahmed , and although they are aristocrates , but yet , she makes a very good housewife who never relies on servants , and she manages the palace very well , even Aziz , Ahmed's younger brother ( Omar ElShareef) , the womanizer who always wakes up late , gets his sleep hours fixed and organized with the help of Safeyya

At that time , Nadiya meets Mostafa ( Emad Hamdy ) , a 35 years old womanizer and a friend of her uncle Aziz , they begin to feel attracted towards eachother , the kind she thinks it's love , and she feels like she've found someone whom she can show her femininity , and yet , she remins a virgin

Nadiya's jealousy towards Safeyya increases even more when Mostafa himself gets so attracted to Safeyya's beautiful , cultured , loving and attractive character who always seem to be like the star of any party they go too , and gradually , Mostafa begins to feel less attracted to Nadiya , who is now preparing for an evil plan...she makes her father believe with false evidences thar Safeyya is having an affair with her uncle Aziz . Ahmed , who believes this , gets fiercely angry and divorces Safeyya , and orders his brother Aziz to leave the palace...Nadiya feels pain in her heart , she knows she's got a strong evil character inside her , she never sleeps due to her wicked actions , but yet , she insists on that and she doesn't know a reason for that. And so , she returns back to the title of the palace's first lady

After that , Aziz proposes to Safeyya , but she gently apologizes , she says that their marriage would make people believe even more that they were having a sexual affair

And oneday , while Nadiya was walking on the beach with her father , Nadiya meets Kawsar ( Hend Rostom ) , her old school colleague , when they were pupils at school , it happenned that Kawsar was in love with a boy called Medhat , and Nadiya with her evil side , sets them appart and causes Kawsar to cry.........now Kawsar is a 25 years old divorced woman....Nadiya sets a plan to make her father attract to Kawsar and they got married

Opposite to Safeyya , Kawsar is a spoilt young woman who loves music and dancing all the time , she never do any housework or carry out any responsibility , and then , Nadiya gets shocked when she knows that Kawsar is having a sexual affair with Sameer ( Roshdi Abaza ) , and that she married her father for his money...Nadiya finds herself actionless and of course sleepless , she knows her father is being betrayed and yet she fears to put him into another shock ...then oneday , while trying to persuade Kawsar and Sameer not to betray her father , Ahmed sees her and she was forced to lie and says that Sameer wants to marry her , Ahmed agrees pleasurely and sleepless Nadiya becomes more and more full of pain inside her as she realizes that is God's revenge for her , when Sameer marries her , they'd surely live in the palace and Sameer would be more closer to his lover Kawsar , and Ahmed would give Sameer a very good and well-paid job

Nadiya goes to see Safeyya and ask her advice , but before she speaks , she finds Mostafa entering and knows that Safeyya is now Mostafa's fiancee and surely that was another revenge for evil Nadiya who goes to her uncle Aziz and begs his help , and on wedding day , and with the help of Aziz , Ahmed knows the truth about Kawsar's affair with Sameer and divorces Kawsar , and while sad Nadiya was crying , flames of a wedding candle catches her wedding dress and destroys her beautiful leg

Nadiya confesses to her father and uncle about her evil action concerning Safeyya and Aziz , they forgive her and the three of them decide to begin a new life together where Nadiya hopes to find some sleep

Wonderful movie with wonderful soundtrack and wonderful faces , and wonderful costumes

Basbousa - Semolina cakes with syrup

Basbousa recipe

Ingredients
•Syrup Ingredients
•2 1/4 cups sugar
•1 1/2 cups water
•juice from 1 lemon (or 2 tablespoons orange juice)
•1 teaspoon honey(optional)
•------------------------------------
•Cake Ingredinets
•2 cups semolina
•1 cup sugar
•1 stick butter, softened
•1 cup whole milk
•1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
•1 tablespoon baking powder
•1 tablespoon baking soda
•2 eggs
•blanched split almonds
•Eshta cream (cream used in making Kiri cheese) [ optional

Preparation
Prepare syrup first. Dissolve sugar in water in a medium saucepan. Add lemon juice and bring to a boil. Once the syrup begins to boil, add in honey. Reduce heat and allow to slowly boil for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 9x12 baking dish.

Cream together butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine semolina, baking powder, and baking soda. Slowly add to butter and egg mixture. Stir in milk.

Pour mixture into baking dish and smooth with spoon.

Take a butter knife and make diagonal lines from left to right and complete to make diamond shapes. Place an almond in the center of each diamond. Bake for 25 minutes.

Remove cake from oven and pour syrup over cake until no more can be absorbed. Allow to cool for 20 minutes.

Serve immediately with a dollop of eshta.

Extracted from : about.com

Love rumor 1960 movie

Ishaaet hobb
translation : Love rumor
A Fateen AbdelWahab movie
released 1960
Is a very famous black and white Egyptian movie

Summary of the story
Hussien ( Omar ElSharif ) is a very serious and dull person , he loves his beautiful cousin Sameeha ( Souad Hosny ), but Sameeha is a naughty girlie girl who is attracted to her other cousin Lucie ( Refaat ElGammaal) who loves singing and dancing but kinda missing manly attitude

Sameeha's father ( Youssef Wahby ) , decides to help Hussien , his nephew , attract Sameeha's attention , so he sets up a plan with his other nephew involved with them ( Abdel Monem Ibrahim )....they spread a rumor that the sexy famous movie star Hend Rostom ( Hend Rostom herself ) is in love with Hussien , and that they were having an affair....soon , Sameeha realizes how wrong she was and falls for Hussien , soon Hussien finds himself trapped with all girls chasing him everywhere after they heard the rumor , and began to realize how handsome he is .

But to their unfortunate , the media announces of Hend Rostom's arrival for presenting in city lights ceremoney (a famous art ceremoney used to be performed in Egypt ) and all the family are planning to attend .
Hend arrives with her fiancee Adel Heikal ( Adel Heikal himself) who is a very famous sportive , Hend is annoyed by his over jealousy......at that time , Lucie who is unhappy because of Hussein winning Sameeha's heart , meete Hend by chance and tells her about Hussein's for Sameeha (as he thinks Hend loves Hussein ), Adel hears this and runs like a crazy wild man to the family house where Hussein and his uncle are waiting for Sameeha and her mother to get ready for the ceremoney .
The annoyed Hend , decides to tease the angry Adel , she takes with her the little child Ahmed Farahat who is presenting as a monologuist in the ceremoney , she runs to their home and embraces Hussein infront of all of them and tells them that the little child is their son .
Sameeha gets annoyed and breaks up with Hussein , she always wanted to marry a cool boy , but now she thinks he's overcool and she realizes how wrong she was about her future husband's character .

Soon , Hend knows everything about the rumor and explains everything to Sameeha with her father confessing that it was just a plan , and the movie ends with Hussien and Sameeha's returning together again , and Hend returns again with Adel who knew about the plan
A very nice comic movie , and....lovely faces

Om Ali .. history of an Egyptian dessert

The story of Om Ali
Om Ali ( Ali's mother )was the first wife of the Sultan Ezz El Din Aybek. In Egypt, women were not allowed to rule, but were permitted to be guardians to their sons who would become king when they came of age. When the sultan was killed by his second wife ( queen Shagareteldorr ),she had a dispute with Om Ali over whose son would be the successor to the Sultan. Shagareteldorr was heavily guarded making it difficult for Om Ali to get rid of her.

Om Ali hatched a plot bribing Shagareteldorr’s handmaids. While Shagareteldorr went to the hamam for a bath, she was beaten to death, by slippers, by her own handmaids! To celebrate her death, Om Ali made this dessert by mixing bread with milk and sugar and distributed it among the people of the land.

Om Ali recipe

Ingredients
1 (17.5 ounce) package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped hazelnuts
1 cup raisins
1 cup flaked coconut
1 1/4 cups white sugar, divided
4 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish.

2.Place the pastry sheets in the baking dish and place the dish in the oven. Watch it closely. When the top layer turns crunchy and golden, remove it from the

oven. Continue until all the sheets are cooked

3.Preheat the oven broiler.

4.In a bowl, combine walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, raisins, coconut and 1/4 cup sugar. Break cooked pastry into pieces and stir into nut mixture. Spread mixture evenly in 9x13 inch dish.

5.Bring milk and 1/2 cup sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Pour over nut mixture.

6.Beat the heavy cream with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread evenly over nut mixture in dish.

7.Place dessert under oven broiler until top is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Extracted from more than one source

Cleopatra's milk and honey bath

Cleopatra is one of the most magnetic and seductive women of human history who knew how to care about her face and body beauty. Women are excited about Cleopatra's beauty for many centuries because she succeeded in winning the hearts of the most unapproachable and formidable men of that time.

There are many discussions about Cleopatra's beauty nowadays. We don't know for sure whether she was a real beauty in our opinion or not. But the ancient sources prove beauty of her skin and fresh complexion. At that time it was an urgent problem in Egypt where the baking sun and sand had a negative effect on skin. And you've got to hand it to Cleopatra, she left good recipes for us.
There are three Cleopatra's beauty secrets came to our days ' milk bath, beauty face masks and special fragrances.

Cleopatra's Milk and Honey Bath
Actually, the main beauty recipe of Cleopatra is her famous milk bath. To prepare a bath you should dissolve a small cup of honey in 1 litre of hot but not boiled milk and pour the mix into a bath. A bath temperature should be the same as body temperature that is 36-37 degrees. Take a bath for 10-15 minutes. Present followers of Cleopatra's beauty suggest substituting fresh milk for dried milk. I also tried to do it and got skin so soft!

You'll need:
- ½ cup of dried milk;
- ½ cup of liquid honey;
- 1 teaspoon of jojoba oil.

Mix the ingredients and add to a bath. Take a bath for 20 minutes. It's enough for all components to have a beneficial effect on skin.

But that's not the half of it. Speaking of Cleopatra's beauty it should be noticed that an effect of Cleopatra's bath was heightened by a scrub. Her servants mixed 300 gr. crumbled sea salt with a half a cup of rich cream and rubbed it into the queen's body. It's better to apply the scrub before bathing because it cleans your skin and opens pores for milk and honey.

Here is one more recipe I found recently. Taking a milk and honey bath put there an old nylon stocking or cotton cloth with some handful of oatmeal inside. At the end of bathing, rub yourself with oatmeal, wait for 5 minutes and rinse with warm water. I think Cleopatra would like this beauty recipe as it clears and nourishes skin making it smooth and silky.

Anyway, we can always afford a milk bath for hands even if we cannot fill a whole bath with milk. 1 litre of milk or less and 1 teaspoon of honey are enough and your hands skin will be extremely beautiful!

Extracted from EveBridge.com

The ancient Egyptian legend of Isis , and the secret name of Ra

The Legend of Ra, Isis, and the Snake

Ra, the chief god and sun god, has a secret name, which is the secret to his power. The goddess Isis (healing, childbirth, "throne") wants "to rule over the earth jointly with [Ra] . She thought she could get this power by learning Ra’s secret name. Ra was getting old, dribbling at the mouth and having "little or no control over his body." Isis took some earth and after adding some of Ra’s drool (which, naturally, dropped from the sky), she worked and kneaded the clay into the shape of a snake. Somehow, with her magic powers, she brought the snake to life and placed it in hiding by the path that Ra (as the sun) traveled every day.

Soon, Ra came along with his retinue of gods and servants. The serpent leaped out and bit Ra in the leg. Ra began to feel woozy right away, feeling his "vital power" leaving him. As the serpent’s poison flowed through his veins, Ra screamed in pain. All the gods gathered round him, asking what was the matter. However, Ra was in the grip of the poison, and could not tell them what had happened—his teeth rattled and his limbs shook, "for the poison had flooded all his members, just as the Nile during the Inundation floods all of the land of Egypt.

When Ra finally does manage to speak, he says that he has been wounded "by some deadly thing which he did not see or make, and he asks who would do such a thing to him. He says, "I have never suffered pain such as this before." Then he talks about what a mighty god he is and how many wonderful and powerful names he has. His real, secret name, however, "was hidden inside my body by my begetter so that the words of power of those who would work magic upon me might not obtain dominion over me. He then talks about his pain again and asks the gods to help cure him with spells.

All the gods try, but only Isis seems to have a clue as to the nature of this disease. She says immediately that Ra has obviously been poisoned by a serpent, and moreover, that she can cure him with her "efficacious words of power. Ra again complains about shaking and feeling chilled ("colder than water") and feverish ("hotter than fire"). Isis says, "Tell me thy name, O divine father, for the person liveth who repeateth thy name

However, instead of telling his name, Ra boasts of his creation of the earth and mountains and of his power to make the Nile rise. He tells Isis some of his other names--"I am Khepera in the morning, Ra at noon-day, and Temu in the evening but he will not surrender his secret name.

Isis is not fooled by these well-known names, and she asks again for the secret name. Since he is so ill, Ra finally says, "I will allow myself to be searched through by Isis, and will let my name come out from my body and pass into her body . Ra hides himself from the other gods, and Isis, assisted by her son Horus, performs the name operation in some unspecified manner. She then utters a magic spell ("Discharge thyself, O poison" etc.), curing him with her words of power.

Extracted from Yahoo answers