Scenes From My Neighborhood: Joy In 'Little Egypt'

Shortly after moving to Astoria, my BFF and I did a little exploring of the neighborhood. During our travels one evening we came across a stretch of Steinway Street (one of Astoria's main shopping drags) that seemed to be almost in a different country. The street was lined with hookah lounges, Middle Eastern grocery stores and a ton of restaurants serving Kofta, Kebab, Baba Ghannoug, Tehina and Shawerma. Gentlemen sat on chairs along the sidewalk (with some sitting on their Off-Duty taxicabs) chatting and laughing with each other - while gorgeous twenty-somethings sipped cocktails in open-fronted bars. The neighborhood had a REALLY cool vibe, and the BFF and I vowed to return sometime for dinner (which we have yet to do).

It was only yesterday I found out that this particular stretch of Steinway Street is known as "Little Egypt" - and is home to a large number of Egyptian expatriates. Naturally, the people of Little Egypt have been following the events in their homeland closely - glued to TV's and radios in their homes and in neighborhood cafes.

And then it happened. Yesterday, shortly after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek stepped down, Little Egypt erupted in joy - and the celebrations lasted well into the night.

TRUE Christians

During the anti-government uprisings in Egypt, Egyptian Christians have been protecting their Muslim brothers during prayers. The picture above is pretty much what awesome is made of.

Someone needs to circulate this photo amongst right-wing "Christians" here in the United Stated with the words "ACT LIKE THIS" scribbled across it.

What would Jeebus do? He would be doing THIS:

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Vacay Ad FAIL

"I hear it's simply LOVELY this time of year..."

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Advice for Mubarak

8-year-old Saudi girl Juju (below) is full of the WIN. First, she's cute as a button. Second, she is smarter and more articulate than some people three times her age. Third, her name is "Juju" (duh). And, last, she gives out free advice to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak - love the "BTW" at the end:

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Egyptian Protests - EXPLAINED

Sounds reasonable to me.

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Featured Bodybuilder - Moustafa

Moustafa N. is a bodybuilder from Egypt.

Egypt

Fantastic sleep is busy with my eyes; 

I seem in some waste solitude to stand 

Once ruled of Cheops; upon either hand 

A dark illimitable desert lies, 

Sultry and still -- a zone of mysteries. 

A wide-browed Sphinx, half buried in the sand, 

With orbless sockets stares across the land, 

The wofulest thing beneath these brooding skies 

Save that loose heap of bleachèd bones, that lie 

Where haply some poor Bedouin crawled to die. 

Lo! while I gaze, beyond the vast sand-sea 

The nebulous clouds are downward slowly drawn, 

And one bleared star, faint glimmering like a bee, 

Is shut in the rosy outstretched hand of Dawn. 

... Thomas Bailey Aldrich