Dates

In the days before Ramadan, people buy lots of sweets and treats to have with their Iftar, which is the meal at the end of the day that breaks the Ramadan fast.

One of these treats is dates. Traditional holds that the Prophet broke his fast each day with a date and water (or milk, depending on who you believe). So this time of year, dates are very popular.

It has been a tradition for the Cairo fruit peddlers to name the different dates after different people that are in the news.

The best/most expensive dates get favorable names. The poorest/cheapest dates get unfavorable names.

This year the sweetest, most expensive dates are called “Nasrallah”, at around LE24/kg.

Close runners-up are Ahmadinejad, around LE18/kg and Chavez at LE14.

The cheapest are Olmerts, priced at about LE1.5.