埃及饮食文化

foodThousandsofyearsago,ancientEgyptiansleftevidenceoftheirloveforfood.Well-preservedwallpaintingsandcarvingshavebeendiscoveredontombsandtemples,depictinglargefeastsandavarietyoffoods.ManyoftheseancientfoodsarestilleateninEgyptianhouseholdstoday.Peas,beans,cucumbers,dates,figs,andgrapeswerepopularfruitsandvegetablesinancienttimes.Wheatandbarley,ancientstaplecrops,wereusedtomakebreadandbeer.Fishandpoultrywerealsopopular.Driedfishwaspreparedbycleaningthefish,coatingthepieceswithsalt,andplacingthemthesuntodry.Fasieekh(salted,driedfish)remainedapopularmealinEgyptasof2000.

BecauseEgyptwasverydry,andreliedmostlyontheNileRivertowaterthecrops,peopleinEgyptcouldonlygrowcertainkindsoffood.Mainlyfarmersgrewwheatandbarley.TheEgyptiansmadethewheatintobreadandintosoupandporridge,andtheyalsofermentedbarleytomakebeer.埃及是世界四大文明古国之一，在饮食方面严格遵守伊斯兰教的教规，斋月里白天禁止吃任何食物，也不喝水。埃及美食带有浓厚的北非风情和阿拉伯色彩,菜烹饪以烧烤煮拌为主，擅长用盐、胡椒、辣椒、孜然、咖喱粉、柠檬汁等来调味，口味偏重。埃及的烹饪广泛以大米、黄豆、羊肉、山羊肉、家禽和鸡蛋为原料，喜欢吃山羊奶酪以及酸制品，也喜爱用蔬菜作菜肴。在沿海地区鱼肴非常流行。此外，埃及人偏爱吃甜食，且品种多样，这些甜食大多是杏仁、橄榄、葡萄干、甘蔗汁、柠檬汁和奶酪等制作而成的。埃及人喜欢吃甜食，种类不下几十种。开罗大街小巷，专营甜食的商店比比皆是。饭馆里，甜食也是每餐必备。有趣的是，埃及甜食的名字很有特色，充满异国风情。TheuniqueEgyptiancuisinehasbeeninfluencedthroughouthistory,particularlybyitsneighborsfromtheMiddleEast.However,Egyptiancuisinemaintainsitsuniqueness.Afterthousandsofyears,riceandbreadremainstaplefoods,andmolokhiyya(aspinach-likevegetable)andfulmedames(cooked,creamyfavabeans),anationaldish,arenearlyaspopularaslongago.

莫洛奇亚(Molokhiyya)是一道绿色的浓汤，是用绿色蔬菜、米饭及大蒜炖成的。FulmedamesisapopularbreakfastdishinEgypt.Itisusuallyservedwithafriedeggandpitabread.Thepitabreadissometimesusedasascoopforthefavabeans.FulmedamesdatesbacktoancientEgypt.Ful,oneofthecountry'sseveralnationaldishes,isatypicalbreakfastmeal.Itisoftenservedinaspicysauce,toppedwithanegg.Lunch,normallyservedbetween2P.M.and4P.M.,usuallyincludesmeatorfish,rice,bread,andseasonalvegetables.Salad,toppedwithtypicalMiddleEasternfaresuchasolives,cheese,andnuts,mayalsobeeaten.Meat(usuallylamb,chicken,fish,rabbit,orpigeon),vegetables,andbreadmakeupatypicaldinnerinEgypt.Teaandadessert,suchasbaklava(honeypastry),basbousa(cream-filledcake),orkonafa(cookedbatterstuffedwithnuts),arefamiliarafter-dinnertreats.

埃及人喜吃甜食，正式宴会或富有家庭正餐的最后一道菜都是上甜食。著名甜食有“库纳法”和“盖塔伊夫”。“锦葵汤”、“基食颗”是埃及人日常生活中的最佳食品。“盖麦尔丁”是埃及人在斋月里的必备食品。“蚕豆”是必不可少的一种食品。其制造方法多种多样，制成的食品也花样百出。例如，切烂蚕豆、油炸蚕豆饼、炖蚕豆、干炒蚕豆和生吃青蚕豆等。锦葵汤是一道用盛产于埃及尼罗河两岸的锦葵做的绿色浓汤，做法是把锦葵的叶子洗干净晒干后粉碎，和羊肉、鸡、大米等一起煮汤，煮好的锦葵汤，浓绿黏稠，味道十分鲜美。Atthesametime,Egypthasavarietyofnationaldishes.Ful(pronounced"fool,"beanpaste),tahini(sesamepaste),koushari(lentils,macaroni,rice,andchickpeas),aishbaladi(apita-likebread),kofta(spicy,mincedlamb),andkebab(grilledlambpieces)arethemostpopular.Teaandcoffeearewidelyconsumed.Egypt'snumerouscoffeeandteahousesbrewverystrongcoffeeandtea(oftenminttea),usuallyofferingbothfullofsugar.Coffeehousesaretypicallyfilledwithmenwhogathertoplaydominoesorbackgammon.Egyptiansalsoenjoyadrinkcalledsahleb,madefromwheat,milk,andchoppednuts.

ReligiousCustomsEgypt'spopulationisaround71million.Around62millionofthemareSunniMuslimsandabout8-9MillionareCopticChristians(ChristianEgyptians).WhetherMuslimorCopt,theEgyptiansaremoderatelyreligiousandreligiousprinciplesarequitenoticeablein

theirdailylives.每逢周五是埃及人传统的“主麻日聚礼”，当清真寺内传出悠扬的唤礼声，伊斯兰教徒便纷纷涌向附近的清真寺，做集体礼拜。为数众多的教徒仍然虔诚地信守每日5次礼拜的教规：即晨礼、响礼、哺礼、昏礼、宵礼。MarriagecustomsMarriagestartedbythesuitor'sparentsvisitingtohisfiancee'shousetogetherfamilyapprovaltocompletethismarriageandreachinganagreement,whichcontainstwomainitems:anamountofmoney,calledMahr,paidbysuitortohisfiancee'sfamilytohelpthempreparethefurnitureoftheirdaughterandavaluablejewelrygift,calledShabka,givenbythesuitortohisfiancee.Thevalueofthisgiftdependedonthefinancialandsociallevelsofthesuitor"sfamily.Whenthetwopartiescompletedtheagreement,theyfixedanappointmentfortheengagementparty.Mostofrelativesandfriendsattendedthepartyinoneofthecommonbanquethalls,whichwasdecoratedwithseveralkindsofflowersandlights.Thefianceeworetheengagementdresswhichwassimplerthantheweddingdressanditscolorwasblueorpinkwhilethegroomputonthefingerofhisfianceearing,wasasymbolofimmortality.Inaddition,thegroomgavehisfianceethevaluablejewelrygiftagreedonbefore.

每一位埃及成年男子到了婚配年龄，首先要向意中人的父亲提亲或者在母系亲属及邻居中择偶。提亲后，男女双方开始商讨女方的陪嫁数额，一般是男方把陪嫁款项的2/3作为聘礼送给女方。迎亲前，男方大摆宴席，并有歌舞相伴，有时宴庆数日。迎亲时，新郎的母亲带领多辆装点漂亮的马车到女方家接新娘，新娘要坐在其中一辆用昂贵克什米尔毛绸、玫瑰花等装饰的花车上。晚餐后，新郎要由乐队引路去清真寺行跪拜礼，最后回到新房，与新娘共饮一杯清泉水，以示同享甘甜幸福。这样的婚礼大约要持续30天左右，耗资约千余埃镑。在埃及西部沙漠的锡瓦绿洲，有独特的婚俗。姑娘8岁定亲，14岁完婚。其间，小伙子要不断地向女方家赠送礼物。新娘头上要编结很多发辫。其一半由娘家梳编，另一半需婆家人来完成。姑娘的嫁妆是100件袍裙。所以，锡瓦人家一有女儿出生，母亲就要开始忙着为其缝制陪嫁的袍裙。FuneralcustomsTheancientEgyptianshadanelaboratesetofburialcustomsthattheybelievedwerenecessarytoensuretheirimmortalityafterdeath.Theseritualsandprotocolsincludedmummification,castingofmagicspells,andburialwithspecificgravegoodsthoughtto