Pasta fagioul in the land of Foule Mudammas

We were cruising down the Nile on a small tourist boat. It was my first visit to Egypt. Mealtime. A selection of pastas with what looked like bolognese and alfredo. After a couple of dinners that looked quite alike, I made the remark to one of the waiters about how similar Egyptian food was to the Italian cuisine I was familiar with. "Oh no," the waiter remarked, this is Italian cooking. We do it regularly at this time of year because it is the season in which most of our tourists are Italian." 

Leaving the boat and settling into a local hotel set me straight, when the Foul Mudammas along with hommos bel tahini and babba ghannouj greeted me on the breakfast buffet.

We strolled around Luxor and at Aswan met Sobek, the crocodile god in his temple where sacred gators used to bask in the sun. We left Egypt a week before the Swiss tourists, who apparently bore no amulets against the rage, were massacred.