First meal in Soug Libya

Before I came to Sudan, everyone told me how food was great here. One of our colleagues took us on the first day to have lunch with him and his friends.

I have to admit that there is a communications problem that I'm facing now, and will be facing here forever. When I ask a question, I might not get a definite anwser, and I might not even get an answer. I asked our friend as to where we are going, several times, but couldn't get anything out of him. I just kept my mouth shut.

We drove for ages until we were coming to a more rural area than Khartoum itself. It was a gravel path, with tents on both sides. You'd be amazed to see the cars parked on both sides, compared by the area we're in. Infront of every tent, there is a fat lady sitting in the sun with a large pot infront of her cooking something that is steaming. The tents themselves are wooden poles with heavy cloth just to protect people from the sun, so they're open from both sides. Inside the tents are beds, yes, beds with people sleeping on them.

No way on earth I would eat in a place like this in Cairo. However, I sat down on the edge of one of those beds not knowing what was going on. The boys set three beds in a triangle, putting a plastic stool in the middle to act as a dining table. A young woman comes in with a huge aluminum tray and lays it on the stool.

Here was the menu:

1. Spicy dip - greenish yellowish paste.
2. Tomato pieces - cut into small cubes.
3. Onions - roughly chopped.
4. Bread - rich fat piece of round bread.
5. Meat - mouthful-sized plate filled with lamb meat.

Everyone attacked the tray, including myself.

With every bite I kept thinking about when I'm going to die with all that flies and dust around us. Reminded me of video footage we saw on Discovery or National Geographic channels.

Kudos, the food was great, I ate like a horse, expected to suffer after the meal, but nothing. Nada.