Ahmed Ramadan - Istanbul

When we came to Istanbul, we met the Egyptian expatriates, eager for Egyptian food, and its sweetness. With these simple words, “Ibrahim’s uncle,” the owner of the “Egyptian Kitchen” restaurant for folk food, summarized the story of opening a restaurant in Istanbul, Turkey.

He added - in his speech to Al Jazeera Net website - that the restaurant has become a meeting place for Egyptians, where individuals come to meet their friends and co-workers, as well as eating traditional Egyptian foods such as stuffed Egyptian-style, and even quarries and fattah.

Muhammad and Ibrahim, two young Egyptian expatriates, for nearly six years in Turkey, we met with them inside the Egyptian Kitchen Restaurant, while they had lunch, where they confirmed that they came to Egyptian restaurants due to their eagerness for Egyptian cuisine, which is famous for its high flavor and casting, as well as diversity, unlike the Turkish restaurants that they considered poor in terms of Diversity.

Muhammad said, "Egyptian food in Egypt has a second taste, after longing for exile. When I eat a molokhia meal or a fetted casserole with flesh, it has a different taste from it in Egypt as a result of longing for my country," saying that is the main reason for his almost weekly presence in Egyptian restaurants in Istanbul.

As for Ibrahim, he pointed out that his upbringing in the countryside made him love Egyptian dishes that contain agricultural ghee and dense spices, stressing that the Egyptian cuisine is distinguished in its diversity and the large number of dishes presented on the dining table, as it loves popular dishes such as flesh, streets, Hawawshi and other dishes.

Egyptian-style breakfast (Al-Jazeera)

Eating and life
He concluded his speech by saying, "The idea of ​​going to Egyptian restaurants is that Egyptian food is not just eating full food after starvation, but life. When I eat Egyptian food, I feel like I am in my homeland, Egypt, among my family and friends."

The Egyptian House, a name taken by "Ali Younes" for his restaurant, which offers Egyptian folk food, such as koshari, Hawawshi, Al-Kawara, Feteer, Alexandrian liver, stressing that when he thought about opening the restaurant he was interested in choosing the way the food works and its types, so he worked to present Egyptian foods the way he used to. Egyptian People.

Younis pointed out that the restaurant is witnessing a great demand from the Egyptian youth in Istanbul, and is keen on eating popular Egyptian meals such as kosheri, sweet and salty breakfast, and it also offers juices that are not present in Turkish lands brought from Egypt such as mangoes and guavas, due to the increasing demand for them.

Abdo Badawi is an Egyptian young man who confirmed in his meeting with Al-Jazeera Net that he accepts Egyptian restaurants because the culture of eating in Turkey differs from the Egyptian culture, expressing his admiration for the Egyptian breakfast, which is different from the Turkish breakfast, according to his saying, where there are beans, tummy, eggplant and potatoes that the Egyptians adore .

Tamia is one of the most famous Egyptian dishes (Al Jazeera).

Badawi explained that Egyptian restaurants are distinguished - far from eating - by the friendliness of friends and providing an opportunity for acquaintance between Egyptian youth abroad, hoping to alleviate the pain of alienation in light of the difference in culture with the Turkish people and the difficulty of learning Turkish for many.

As for university youth Hassan Ali, he says, "There must be nostalgia for Egyptian food, especially with the atmosphere of alienation and lack of family presence, which hinders the possibility of preparing food all the time, which forces us to come to restaurants," adding "when you enter the restaurant, you may be on your own and find your friends without an arrangement present You sit with them, which breaks the barrier of alienation among young people. "

It is noteworthy that political events in a number of Arab countries such as Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Iraq and Palestine, following the Arab Spring revolutions, led some of their citizens to seek refuge and residence in Turkey, as the number of Arab refugees and residents reached nearly five million, according to statements by Turkish officials and the Egyptian community numbers reach about Thirty thousand people, according to unofficial statistics of Egyptian NGOs in Istanbul.