Video - Prickly pear in Egypt .. Rizk and difficulties

Hassan Masri - Cairo

"Despite the difficulties, I endure for a living." Majdi, a vendor of prickly pears, spoke on the streets of the Egyptian capital, pointing out that he starts his work from 6 am to midnight sometimes.

Magdy says he comes from Assiut (southern Egypt) to sell prickly pear figs in Cairo during a season from June to October, then back to his hometown, explaining that he is forced to do so by a lack of job opportunities in Upper Egypt.

In order to obtain the fruits of prickly pear, Magdy has to go to several areas near Alexandria and Qalubia in order to buy the fruit that grows in the desert environment.

As for the turnout, he says that the prickly pear is a fruit of great interest from Egyptians, especially as it is seasonal and ends with the end of the summer, which can be seen in the high rates of buying interest from different age groups of men and women.

It is noteworthy that the prickly pear is a tree ranging from one and a half meters to three meters, and is a green color, and the fruits are yellow, red and purple, and it has thorns like most desert plants.

Teen street vendors are scattered in the streets of Cairo and Egypt using wooden carriages pushing them in front of them to move from one place to another, including 17-year-old Khaled, who told us he works with his father during the summer vacation.

Khaled says they get prickly pear through street vendors from the Abu Zaabal area in Qalyubia province. He adds that he sells one fig for a pound and can make a daily profit of between 50 and 100 pounds.

Khaled points out the difficulties facing them, most notably figs thorns, and explains that he is trying to mitigate them by wearing gloves but do not benefit much, and is forced at the end of the day to use forceps to extract these thorns from his hands.

It is noteworthy that "prickly pear is a very beneficial fruit for the human body; Minerals such as calcium, magnesium and manganese, and the colored fruits are rich in antioxidants, "according to Dr. Wafa al-Sayed, a therapeutic nutrition consultant for the island.

The doctor said that prickly pear is useful for those who want to get a sweet fruit without a lot of calories, which makes it important for those who want to lose weight, adding that there is a mistaken belief that it is harmful to the colon.