The Syrian Sandwich Shop

 Because the civil war in Syria certainly isn't front of mind in the United States, I don't know how many Syrian refugees have found their way into Egypt. But, just a reminder, the Council on Foreign Relations states here that "hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed and nearly thirteen million people—more than half the country’s prewar population—have been displaced."  

It isn't clear how many of those displaced Syrians have found their way into Egypt.  We used to run into large numbers of them when we were getting our visas renewed downtown a few years ago.  One friend here says there are 5 million of them in Egypt - that's probably high.  Brookings Institute mentioned an official estimate of about 114,000 in 2016 - that's probably quite low.  This report claims a total of nine million migrants of all sorts in Egypt, with 1.5 million of them Syrian. 

More than a few of the Syrians appear to have started their own restaurant.  I Googled "Syrian restaurant near me" and discovered a surprising number:

 

Zooming in closer on our neighborhood, there are three within about two hundred yards of each other just up the block where we visit our favorite bakery and fruit/veggie market.

Any time that we pass by Abu Amar, there is always a crowd and we thought we had better try it out when we discovered that people give directions that now include "turn by the Syrian sandwich shop."

 

The photo below shows a great slice of Egyptian life.  There is Viva Gym, occupying the second and third floor of a tall building; the gym has an entrance on the right next to the apartment building entrance with its bawab sitting out front keeping an eye on the street.  There is a massive snack store on the left side on the busiest corner you could imagine with every kind of chip, cookie and candy bar made.  It occupies this prime corner where buses, taxis and tuk-tuks all interchange passengers.  Cartons of water and soft drink coolers are conveniently located next to the sandwich shop.  

And right in the middle is Abu Amar's Syrian sandwich operation.  It occupies two shop spaces.  On the left, customers place their order and pay, receiving a receipt with a number.  On the right, an artist with a large and very sharp knife whittles away at the largest chunk of chicken shawarma that I have ever seen.  At the back of the two shops, a crew assembles the finished products.

  

A few people are here to buy the large roasting barbecued chickens on the horizontal spits in another cooker  but the vast majority are buying the chicken shawarma sandwiches, Syrian style.  It's a perilous climb up those stairs to the ordering/pickup level - especially the giant first step.  A railing?  Where do you think you are?

We drew number 249 and they were only on the 180s at the time.  Deliveries and telephone orders are coming in besides the orders from the in-person crowd.

  

I admire the largest advertising logo that I have ever seen on a jacket as we wait.  Gianfranco Ferre - perhaps the gentleman is part of the family, he looks the part.  We have about a ten minute wait for our order, then it is off to our apartment.  There is no seating at the restaurant, this is strictly takeaway.

  

 

It turns out that the sandwiches are absolutely delicious.  It must be the secret Syrian sauce.  We will definitely be back.  Price?  40 EGP, about $1.35 each.  We also had a coleslaw- like salad for another 35 cents.  We'll likely skip that next time. It was a little too sweet for our taste.

 

There is a large menu taped to the wall between the restaurant and the snack store.  It describes a wide variety of options for meat and chicken  sandwiches.  They only have chicken.

This year, we will not be leaving until after Ramadan begins.  I am curious to see what happens as all of the restaurants accommodate the fasting season.