Egypt Highlights - Part One: Pigeon soup?

Before Egypt was thrown into revolution, S and I were there making our way around as much of the country as we could in just under two weeks. Our first morning in Cairo was spent slowly wandering round the Egyptian Museum at the edge of Tahrir Square - now virtually unrecognizable underneath the throng of protesters who have made it home for the last couple of weeks. Staring at mummies and walking from one of Tutankhamun's treasures to the next was hungry work, and after leaving we quickly made our way to Emara Hati al-Geish, a kebab shop that has been open since the 1920s. Back then it was apparently called Hati al-Malek (the King's kebab restaurant) but after the 1052 revolution the name changed to 'the Army's...'

We had some excellent grilled lamb chops, and a plate of stuffed vine leaves, but the most unusual element was the complimentary pigeon soup we received as a starter. We had noticed this as the absolutely cheapest thing on the menu when deciding what to order, and wondered what it would be like. We couldn't imagine wild pigeon being used, and couldn't get the idea of street birds out of our minds especially when considering we had not yet got used to constantly breathing in the black smog of Egypt's capital. The soup was essentially a very lemony stock, a nice appetizer to a meaty meal. It reminded me of the Greek 'avgolemono' which is made with chicken. After forgetting the idea of any old dirty pigeon being chucked into a pan, we found pigeon featured on many menus - especially stuffed with rice and herbs - and in fact saw them being sold in markets. It was interesting to see how the bird which to us in England is often found at high-end restaurants as a result of traditional shooting practices at particular times of year, is here practically a staple.