Displaced Palestinian Businessman Brings Taste of Home with Shawarma Restaurant in Cairo
A Palestinian businessman named Basem Abu Al-Awn, who was displaced from his home in Gaza during the war, has opened a shawarma restaurant in Cairo to bring a taste of home to fellow refugees.
The restaurant, named "The Restaurant of Rimal Neighborhood," offers Middle Eastern dishes including shawarma, which is thinly sliced meat.
Abu Al-Awn chose the name to honor his neighborhood and homeland in Gaza, and as a replacement for the two restaurants and his house that were destroyed during the conflict.
He hopes to return to Gaza once the war between Israel and Hamas has ended.
A man named Rimal vows to rebuild his destroyed shopping center in Gaza, which was once home to large malls, main bank offices, and famous shawarma places.
One of these shawarma restaurants has been reopened in Cairo by its manager, Ahmed Awad.
The shawarma's unique and scarce Palestinian spices make it popular among Egyptians, who find its taste distinct from the shawarma they usually have.
Awad's father blends the available spices to maintain the dish's authentic Palestinian taste.
Thousands of Palestinians have fled to Gaza during the ongoing conflict, which began last October.
Among them is Awad, his wife, and their four children, who have been living in Cairo for three months.
Awad used to work in restaurants in Gaza, specializing in oriental and Western dishes.
With no end to the war in sight, Awad urged Palestinians to keep working and focus on their lives.
He encouraged them to seek temporary legal residency in Cairo to pursue investment and study opportunities until a ceasefire is reached.
Other Palestinians stranded in Cairo include businessmen, students, and ordinary families.
Om Moaz, a woman from Rafah in southern Gaza Strip, faced financial difficulties in paying for a rented house and her husband and daughter's treatment in Cairo.
To overcome her struggles, she started a home-based business offering Palestinian food through social media.
The demand for her food was high among both Egyptians and Palestinians, with some being war refugees in Egypt.
Her business has been successful, and she hopes it continues to thrive.