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Egypt Travel - gluten free

Before going to Egypt, I asked for suggestions
from the Celiac list on traveling gluten free in
Egypt and promised a report on return. Several
good suggestions were received, both on what to
seek and what to avoid.  There were several
warnings against drinking tap water in Egypt.
This was not hard to avoid because many sidewalk
shops sell good bottled water.

A woman who goes to Egypt each year suggested
getting a hot plate and a pan to use to make
Betty Hagman's rice scones. Several people warned
that electricity in Egypt is 220v like most of
the rest of the world rather than 110v as we have
in the US.  I looked into buying a converter so I
could bring my own hot plate. Radio Shack has one
for $35.  I decided to buy a pan and a hot plate
in Egypt, and donate them to someone before I
left.  At a small shop on a side street in Cairo,
a hot plate cost just 55 Egyptian pounds, that is
about $16.50 US. The pan and the hot plate
together cost less than the converter would have
in the US, and I didn't have to pack them. Rice
flour was available at a "supermarket" in
Zamalek, and I made rice cereal for breakfast. It
was a life saver because breakfast in most hotels
was a wheat roll and an egg. Starting the day
with good rice cereal and an egg was a good
foundation for the rest of the day. Rice was also
available in better restaurants in most cities.
Warning - the rice sold in many sidewalk shops
contained a noodle that looked like it was made
of wheat. I did not try it.

Perhaps the best suggestion came from a person
who said, "Regardless of how careful you are, you
will get diarrhea at least once on the trip. The
culture of intestinal bacteria in Egypt is
different than we are used to. Do yourself a
favor. Introduce the new culture into your
intestines right away. Get diarrhea, let it run
and enjoy the rest of your trip."  That was the
best advice I could have received. I bought
falafel and salad from a small shop the first
day, had slight diarrhea for two days, and was
not bothered during the rest of the trip.

The woman who suggested the hot plate also
suggested Tammia (tomMEa). There are several
types of Tammia. The best known is falafel, a
small patty made of garbanzo beans and spices.
Another variety is made of garbanzos, potato
flour and an egg. All of the Tammia I ate was
entirely gluten free and tasted great. It was a
mainstay of my eating during the stay because it
is available from shops in nearly all cities.
Even though Tammia is tasty and gluten free, it
is deep fried. Two weeks was as long as I would
want to have deep fried food in my daily diet.

The vegetables in Egypt are wonderful. The rich
soil grows large great-tasting veggies good for
making stir fry on the hot plate. Another thing I
found in only Cairo is carrot juice. Several
shops on a main street that goes past the
Egyptian Museum of Antiquities sold wonderfully
sweet carrot juice for one pound Egyptian, about
30 cents for a mug.

The trip went very well. It was easier to avoid
gluten than I had imagined.  There were things
that were harder to avoid such as cigarette
smoke. Most adult male Egyptians smoke - usually
American cigarettes. Even in nonsmoking rooms, it
was difficult to keep smoke out because smokers
occupied adjoining rooms. In spite of our
instructions, the travel agent did not get us a
non-smoking room on the cruise. That was very
difficult. The windows did not open and the room
seemed to recirculate smoky air. Both my wife and
I developed sidestream-smokers cough from three
nights there.  Cairo also burns garbage along the
railroad track. So there is often a hazy smoke
over the city.

The Egyptian people are delightful for the most
part. Ninety-nine per cent of the Egyptian people
are loving and very sociable.  However, English
speaking tourist sharks roam about looking for
tourists to gouge. They love to bargain, and if
you show any interest in their wares they will
sell it very cheap rather than lose a sale.  It
is best not to go with them. If you have no
interest, we found that a persistent, "NO, thank
you" would eventually discourage even the most
determined sidewalk salesman.

A taxi is a good way to travel except many taxi
drivers do not speak English. In addition, there
is a high illiteracy rate in Egypt, possibly as
high as 70%. More than once we went to a
different destination than we intended because
the taxi driver did not understand.  If in doubt,
it is best to have someone write your destination
in Arabic on a slip of paper. Show the slip to
someone who can read Arabic and have them tell
the taxi driver where to go. Traffic is
horrendous in Cairo as in most of Egypt. It is
not unusual for drivers to pass directly into
oncoming traffic. Oncoming drivers pull right to
permit three or four lanes of traffic on a wide
two lane road.

In summary, with vigilance I was able to travel
gluten free in Egypt. For the most part the
Egyptian people were very enjoyable. The temples
were amazing. The trip was well worth any
discomfort we endured. I unhesitatingly recommend
it to anyone interested in the religion of the
ancient Egyptians.

Please contact me if you have questions.

John Hempstead
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