Egyptian Dom

I'm feeling particuilarly clever this morning after signing into my blogger account in Arabic, and I owe all of my brainpower to a drink I just discovered.  Even though I've been coming to Egypt for 11 years, I've never tasted this carmel colored, gingerbready sweet, butterscotch flavored drink until last week!  All of a sudden, it's turning up everywhere I go.  On my first night in Luxor a friend mentioned it being his favorite drink.  Other local friends said that they had never even tried it.  The next night, the Governor of Luxor, Dr. Samir Farag (see below) served our delegation Dom and called it "our national drink".  The following night we sat under a dom palm nut canopy at  newly created Nubian Village in Luxor - an open air museum which demonstrates the traditional Nubian way of living.  We were also served the drink during a meal which the Governor arranged for us. I find it ironic that during a time when most Egyptians look forward to American soft drinks, American tourists are indulging in traditional ancient Egyptian drinks.



Dom palm nuts are a shiny brown fruit, about the size and shape of a tomato.  They grow in bunches on a palm tree and have been eaten since antiquity.  Since the nuts are so hard and woody, they must be soaked to realease the spongy, fibrous flesh from them. The flesh is then whisked in a blender with water and sugar to make a drink which resembles a frothy pulled tea (see the drink in the clear glasses in the above photo).  The centers of the nuts are used to make jewelry and beads for decorative purposes.  Dom is also said to have special nutritional properties, which will help me to justify my latest addiction.