Farming village along the Nile River, Egypt.

 

visited November 2, 2025

Besaw Island in the Nile has 350 villagers. We met Abu a farmer and fisherman.  Every family has 2 acres and we visited where he grows bananas, mango and doum palm fruit. Our OAT tour group of 16  explored the village, farmland and later his home where we chatted for about an hour before they hosted a phenomenal lunch. 

Walking in the villages photos 

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In the family orchard, we learned how bananas are pollinated. I didn't know the flower was the male part of the plant and under the petals are flowers. The fruit bats do the pollinating.  Bananas grow year round. Mango season is June and July.

looking up the banana flower and fruits

The doum (pronounced dom) palm tree. It is known for its forked trunk, large leaves, and edible, gingerbread-flavored fruit. The doum palm is a native species in the Nile region, and its wood and fruit have been used for centuries for construction, food and drink. 

We then returned to the family home where several families live together. Ground level is community: meeting room, dining room, kitchen as well as the parent apartment. Upstairs is Abu's family and a brother's 2 separate apartments. He called the top/3rd floor "troublemakers" in excellent English :-) The feast luncheon included 

the bread that we put into the outdoor oven when we arrived, fried chicken, yummy rice that wasn’t just white, eggplant, zucchini tomato casserole, orzo chicken soup, spinach that was best when you swiped your bread into it, fries (Egyptians fries, not French)

Looking outside from inside their home, the staircase is open/without a roof up 4 floors to the rooftop terrace with unforgettable views

As I was taking a family photo,  Farhah arrived downstairs and joyfully photobombed 

A portion of our discussion revolved around Farhah. Pronounced  Far-HAH, age 22 and Abu’s sister is/was married at age 18 and divorced after 8 months later because his sisters controlled him.  This is not easy in such a small traditional community, virginity is mandatory so only another divorced man or widow might consider her. She continues to hope that she can attend university to study English.