Sunday, August 23, 2009

Egypt's best dates are 'Obama' and 'Nasrallah'

From the AP:
For the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Egyptian fruit sellers have named their best dates of the year after President Barack Obama in a sweet tribute to the American leader...

Dates are a traditional food for Ramadan — which begins Saturday in most of the Islamic world...

"We love Obama and so we named our best dates for him," said Atif Hashim at his busy shop in downtown Cairo.

Huge barrels in his shop were piled with "Obama" dates, selling for just under $2.50 a pound ($5 a kilogram). For an additional dollar, there is an even better date, labeled on a sign as "Super Obama."...

In 2006, many sellers in Egypt named their best dates after the leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah......
Last year, an Egyptian blogger noted that dealers in the Mediterranean town of Marsa Martrouh were peddling an 'Obama' brand hashish:
A new brand of (presumably black Moroccan) hashish has appeared in the Egyptian town of Marsa Matrouh, called 'Obama'!

I recall in 2003 , a quite popular brand of hash that appeared in Cairo was named 'Saddam' coz it was 'stronger than chemical weapons.
Another Egyptian blogger made the following observation:
By the hash-o-meter, Barack Obama may be the most popular foreign leader in Egypt since Saddam Hussein......

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