Falafel and Baba ghanoush--Exploits of Aswan, Luxor and Sailing the Nile

"One of my fondest memories of Egypt was an expedition for falafel during Ramadan."

When we travel, we have the odd tendency to recall, with great detail, events, people and situations somewhat departed from the supposed reason why we traveled to a particular place. Yes standing in front of the Pyramids is a awe-inspiring moment, but what about the other 90% of your time? As I often think with my stomach, not surprisingly, my travel memories are hallmarked by breakfast, lunch, dinner and every snack inbetween, including a trip for falafel one blazing hot afternoon in Luxor.

Aswan and Luxor are treasure chests of historic greatness, from the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings, to the Temple of Abu Simbel. These architectual relics of a faded but influencial empire are grand reminders of the inpiring and the tyranious of which mankind is capable. I would recommend spending a great deal of time wondering the Great Hall within the Karnak Temple and gazing at the hyrogliphs hundreds of feet below in the Valley of the Kings. So rarely is this type of ancient history available for such close encounters. I would, however, also sacrifice a substantial chunk of your time to exploring the food, because there is a whole lot you can miss if you do not.

I have met some travelers who mock my obsession with food as an ill-placed priority. Coincidentally, these are the same individuals who feel that the only good reason to come to Egypt is to snap a picture of themselves in front of the Pyramids. Food, in my mind, is a segway into what is really important when you travel--the people. Yes, it can get a little gritty, and some times you are not quite sure what you are sinking your teeth into, but isn't that what life is all about? I sometimes think of all that we would have missed had we been content with the Americanized restaurant at the foot of our hotel.

Getting falafel at high noon during Ramadan in the middle of Luxor is not exactly as easy as it sounds. As such, our expedition to find great falafel in Luxor was more than just satiating a hunger for fried chic peas and yogurt sause. It quickly became a speed dating session of Luxor's finest from the pair of restaurant owners who debated for 20 minutes over what was the best falafel in Luxor (we called it "Egyptian Yelp"), to our politically charged cab driver who drove as fast and as well ask he spoke English.

Once all was said and done, we finally arrived at a small road side food cart manned by a toothless, razor thin man who was happy to fire up the oil to make a little falafel. The deep fried balls of deliciousness were about as fulfilling as not having to negotiate down a "skin tax" premium as is typical for mostly any Egyptian transaction entered into by a tourist or Expat.

I would be selling Aswan short if I did not also mention its hidden foodie gems. Aswan, which was the southern most tip of the Egyptian empire and famous its merchants trying to sell tourists bushels of fake saphron, is also home to a large Nubian population. Possible through mostly any tour group, one can cross the Nile to one of the numerous Nubian islands just off Aswan for a unreplicatable home cooked meal experience. Our expedition led us to a small, white, and open roofed home with soft tan sand serving as the floor. Once the sun had set, the tower from the mosque next door sang the break-fast prayers into our dinning room and we sat down to a feast sprawled out on colorful Nubian blankets. There were so many different types of stews that I cannot recall them all, except that I was ready to pop at the end, but my favorite had to be the goat with eggplant and lentals in a tasty mint sauce.

Our voyage from Aswan to Luxor was a culinary experience in and of itself, or maybe I should say a nautical dream. What better way to experience a slice of Aswanian life than sail on a Felluca up the Nile to Luxor (or at least a part of the way) at the mercy of the winds, tide, and two able bodied Nubian sailors.

As we sailed into the afternoon and the sun got blistering hot we grabbed ahold of a secured rope and jumped off the back of the boat for a little Egyptian water skiing. A word to the wise, do not swallow any Nile water. Thank the Lord for a little antibiotic called Cypro (do not leave home without it). Once we all dried off, we hung our feet off the side and enjoyed an afternoon snack of Egyptian standards--flat breads, dates, baba ghanoush and humus. As much as it pains me to say it, step over chips and guacamole.

Upon docking later that evening, we again all sat around a beautiful spread of goat, beef and vegetarian stews, olives, breads, and my favorite,baba ghanoush. Arriving in Luxor yesterday morning marked a significant milestone of our trip...we have but one week left on this epic journery. As I fell asleep aboard the deck of our felluca that night, the thought of leaving Egypt haunted me profusely--how was I going to leave all of this fantastic food behind?