Imagine a prized Egyptian discovery and chances are you are thinking of sarcophagi or statues of sphinxes. But the next big thing in Egyptology might be what the creators of these historical items were eating for breakfast.
Some may argue this field of study holds little interest for the general public, but there is one woman in Egypt who begs to differ.
Mennat-Allah El Dorry, a German and British-trained archaeologist, specialises in archaeobotany and the history of food in Egypt.
"I like to call myself a food archaeologist," she told The National. "Archaeobotany is what you make it. I think it's very sexy," Dr El Dorry, who is in her 30s, said with a smile. "When I first explored the field, I think plants ended up choosing me."
Once I say I study food history, everyone has a question. Everyone can relate and has a theory
Dr El Dorry’s passion has made her a reliable expert in her field; the go-to person for archaeobotanical remains. That passion transcends purely academic work and spills into areas of contemporary interest, such as which food or dish eaten today by Egyptians can be traced back to Pharaonic times or what makes a dish purely Egyptian.
“For something to be Egyptian, it does not have to be 7,000 years old,” she said.
The typically Egyptian dish kushary first appeared in Egypt as recently as 1860 in the Red Sea port city of Suez, she said. The origin of the dish is in India where it is known as khichri, but Egyptians made it their own by adding to the lentil and rice tomato sauce, pasta and a garlic-vinegar sauce.
Another example is fava beans, or what Egyptians call ful medamess. Most Egyptians are under the impression that it is something Egyptians ate since Pharaonic times, but “we have no evidence to back this up”, Dr El Dorry said. Eating ful may have begun in Egypt at its Greco-Roman period in late antiquity.
"The search for 'purity' and authenticity is often a futile one," Dr El Dorry wrote in the latest edition of the Egyptian periodical Rawi, which was entirely devoted to Egypt's culinary history. "Although it sounds like a cliche, the world is really a melting pot."
What did Ancient Egyptians actually eat?
“They had a basic diet of fresh food, did not eat processed food or refined sugar and when they ate preserved food, it was naturally preserved,” she said.
“But they had some of the worst dental health because they often broke their teeth eating bread that contained little bits of the stones used to grind grains into flour.”
But not everything she examines is food.
“We get to see a lot of animal manure in archaeological digs, including the dung used by ancient Egyptians for a steady fire to cook. I also find a lot of sheep or goats’ droppings,” she said.
The animal manure, she said, helps Egyptologists learn about agricultural practices during Pharaonic times because animals were often fed waste from harvesting. Manure can help to determine what people ate and even during which season it was consumed.
One area Dr El Dorry has spent considerable time researching is the wine made in ancient Christian monasteries in Egyptian deserts.
More than a decade ago, it took her a year to identify the remains of just one type of grape remains found in an ancient monastery.
“Now I can identify them in my sleep,” she said.
Dr El Dorry discovered that the grapes were crushed for winemaking purposes in one monastery, but she never found a grape press.
“It was charred after it was apparently used as fuel,” she said. What was used as grape presses, she believes, were straw mats in which the grapes were sandwiched and a screwing device made of wood was used to crush them.
Through her focus on winemaking in monasteries, Dr El Dorry offers a window into one aspect of the relationship between Egypt’s Muslim rulers and its Christian minority, namely the occasional destruction of wine stocks and the banning of the making of or trade in wine.
“It was done either out of religious zeal or economic reasons, but those bans were often rescinded or just neglected.”
Unlike many who dig in search of the acclaim that comes with a great Egyptian discovery, she said she is not interested in glory.
"I just want to enjoy what I do," she said at the Nile-side Cairo Yacht Club across the street from her family home in the Egyptian capital.
“Once I say I study food history, everyone has a question, everyone can relate and has a theory.”
Besides a doctorate from Muenster in Germany, a master’s degree from University College London and an undergraduate degree from the American University in Cairo, Dr El Dorry’s credentials as an Egyptologist extend to her linguistic abilities. Beside her native Arabic, she speaks English and German and can also read Coptic, the language Egyptians spoke in late antiquity.
It is a good time to be an archaeologist in Egypt. In recent years, archaeologists there have made a series of breathtaking discoveries, including dozens of well-preserved coffins that are 2,500 years old and a pair of giant statues of an Egyptian king in Cairo’s eastern Heliopolis suburb in 2017.
The intensely publicised discoveries fuelled interest in Egypt as a popular tourist destination and, in the case of the coffins recently unearthed from a holy burial site just south-west of Cairo, served as a global reminder of Egypt's treasures at a time when very few tourists were visiting the country because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr El Dorry has a book on food in archaeological monasteries in Egypt that is due to be published in 2022.
“Of course not,” she replied when asked whether such a book would be popular. “You’ll be one of three if you decide to buy it,” she said lightheartedly. “My dream book is a people’s book about the history of food in Egypt. That’s the one I intend to write next.”
The Ancient Egyptian diet
- Bread
- Beer, made from emmer
- Vegetables: onion, garlic, leek, cabbage, papyrus stalk, cucumber, lettuce, turnip, radish, lentils, celery
- Fruit: dates, figs, pomegranates, melons, grapes
- Fish, salted and preserved
- Poultry: duck, goose, quail
- Meat from cows, pigs, sheep, goats, hippos, gazelles, cranes, hedgehogs
- Milk and cheese
- Wine, pressed from grapes
- Juice made from grapes and figs
- Honey
Read more about Ancient Egypt:
You can now take virtual tours of historic Egyptian archaeological sites
Curse of the pharaohs in the time of Covid: should Egypt be unearthing mummies?
Huge archaeological find in Egypt includes 50 mummies and a temple
Egyptology isn't just about what we find, but who finds it – and why
Egypt unearths dozens of 2,500-year-old coffins in major discovery
Expert races against time to save Egypt’s 4,600-year-old Bent Pyramid
Match info
Manchester City 3 (Jesus 22', 50', Sterling 69')
Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 65')
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
RESULT
Bournemouth 0 Southampton 3 (Djenepo (37', Redmond 45' 1, 59')
Man of the match Nathan Redmond (Southampton)
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
More about Middle East geopolitics
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
The Vines - In Miracle Land
Two stars
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
