November 29, 2004

Pass the joint Farouk, and don't spill your beer

An absolutely mind blowing window into Egyptian society:


An amazing thing I recently discovered is the presence of beer and cheap alcoholic beverages in some of those weddings [of poor people]. A friend of mine who works in a beer company told me that he went to a wedding in a very poor district of Cairo and saw the people drinking beer and rolling marijuana joints! A police officer and his 2 soldiers were sitting beside my friend doing the same thing! (I'm wondering how much they got from the bridegroom to stay silent) It was a hilarious experience.

This is likely the sort of thing that drives Islamists nuts. Poor couples do their weddings in alleys, accessible social clubs and even in the streets. If this sort of rule breaking is going on where it can't be ignored by the imams, that's got to drive pressure for a backlash. Anyway, read the whole article to get an idea of Egypt's wedding culture.

Posted by TMLutas at November 29, 2004 11:33 AM