Edmonton Heritage Festival - Summer 2012


This year 2012, an Egyptian corner has been added to the Edmonton Heritage Festival

Egypt was presented by two tents during the three days’ celebration of Heritage day at the William Hawrelak Park


The first tent will was the Egyptian foods tent.

 

Egyptian cuisine goes back to ancient Egyptian time. Onions were and still are a primary vegetable in the taste of Egyptian food, and in its nutrition as well. In addition, all sorts of beans are a main source of protein, namely fava beans or “Foul and Falafel” dishes as they say in Arabic.

Egyptian cuisine is based on foods that grow out of the ground; it also encourages vegetarian diets as it consists of a large number of vegetable dishes. Unlike coastal cities, they cook a lot of fish and numerous kinds of seafood dishes.

Here below was the menu of Egyptian plates offered at the tent:

  • Kofta Kabab: Egyptian burger on a skewer served on pita bread with secret dressing sauce and salad
  • Chicken Shawerma: Grilled chicken Shawerma with onions and green peppers served on pita bread with secret dressing sauce
  • Falafel (Vegetarian): Fried ground Fava and Chick Beans served on pita bread with secret dressing sauce and salad.
  • Dolma: Stuffed grape leaves (3 pcs)
  • Baklava: Egyptian pastries (1 pc)
  • Zalabia: Egyptian fried donuts with sugary topping (5 pcs)
  • Drinks: Pop, Water, or Egyptian Mint Tea (Hot or Iced)
  • Watermelon: 1 pc

 

The second tent will was the Egyptian arts tent.

Most of the attractions and activities were available in the second tent which was divided into three corners;

 

1- The Cartouche Corner (Cartouche painting )

 

The cartouche is an oval with a horizontal line at one end, indicating the royal name. The cartouche was first used in the Fourth Dynasty. In the past, cartouches were worn by Pharaohs. The shape in itself had a meaning as the oval part surrounding the name was a sign of security and protection of any evil. The visitors had the opportunity to write their names in both English and Hieroglyphics on Papyrus paper. This souvenir is a symbol of good luck.

 

Here is a sample of the purchased Cartouche:

 

 

2- “The Pharaonic Costume” Photo Booth Corner

Pharaoh, means "Great House." After Djoser of the third dynasty, kings started wearing the typical pharaonic costume. All these costumes are found on the walls of all temples and are typical of the era of ancient Egypt. There was a wide range of costume designs that were fabricated during this period. The costumes comprise of crowns and headdresses. Visitors were invited to dress like Pharaoh and photographed along with family members. This good memory allowed our visitors to have a glance of the Old Egyptian epoch, live it and feel it.

 

3- Egyptian Bazaar Corner

Egypt has witnessed several ruling periods by the Pharaohs, the Roman, the Islamic and the current ones. All of these periods had their own impact on Egypt’s history and development.

Visitors were able to buy the souvenirs they like from this corner and be reminded of the different phases Egypt has gone through.

 

4- Information Booth

In This booth visitors were able to watch videos and had an in-depth discussion about the different ages of the Egyptian History (Pharaonic, Coptic and Arabic). In addition, pamphlets and free Egyptian gifts were provided.

 

Egyptian Pavilion in the media

 

 

Images from the Egyptian pavilion - Heritage festival 2012: