Yomna tells us about where to buy fruit and vegetables in Egypt, while teaching us some useful words and phrases in Egyptian Arabic.

Hello! Whether you are a famous chef or an everyday cook like most of us, you will need a daily supply of xuDār wi fákha خُضار و فاكْهة veggies and fruit.

In Egypt like many other countries, you can get your vegetables Tāza طازة fresh or migammída مِجمِّدة frozen from several places. Choosing the right one depends on what basis do you need your vegetables: yawmi يَوْمى daily, isbū3i اِسْبوعى weekly , or sháhri شهْرى monthly.

If you go to a hypermarket, head to the fresh sector and have your monthly or weekly needs. Or go to the fridges zone to have some frozen ones. If you are not going that far, you may go to maHálle xuDār محلّ خُضار green grocer near your house; you can find most kinds of fresh vegetables and fruit there.

Another option is to go to sū2 shá3bi سوق شعْبى a local market; there are some local markets which are permanent in some places. These are usually named after the place they’re found, such as sū2 iTTawābi2 سوق الطَّوابِق Ettawabe market. You can ask someone to tell you about the nearest one.

Also there are the temporary local markets, which usually are named for the day it’s held in, such as sū2 ilgúm3a سوق الجُمْعة Friday Market. In these local markets, you can see fallaHīn فلاحين farmers showing their maHaSīl  محاصيل crops from different kinds, all are fresh just taken from the land.

The hyper markets differ from the local markets, that in the hyper you get any kind of veg or fruit in any season and you can find crops imported from other countries like ittufāH il2amrikāni التُّفاح الأمْريكاني American apples.

But in the local market you only find the seasonal crops of the country but surely fresh. The local market may be considered as a live report of any country; while you’re walking there you can easily recognize ilHāla -zzira3íyya wi -l2iqtiSadíyya wi -l2igtima3íyya li-lbálad wi -ssukkān ilmaHalliyyīn الحالة الزِّراعية و الاِقْتِصادية و الاِجْتِماعية للبلد و السُّكان المحلِّيّين the agriculture, economic, and social status of the country and the local people.

So, I guess visiting a local market can be a ríHla saqafíyya رحلة ثقافية cultural journey, and of course it’s very colorful, too.