The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

As one of the most popular Lebanese restaurants in Cairo all year round, Tamara Lebanese Bistro was always going to be a go-to for fetar and sohour this Ramadan – there’s just something about the food of the Levant that speaks to hungry, tired Egyptians.

But the restaurant is marking Ramadan with more than just its special fetar and sohour set-menus. Using the hashtag #TamaraGivesBack, every Sunday throughout the month, Tamara has been donating at least fifty full fetar meals to the Egyptian Food Bank, which has been fighting the good fight since being established in 2006, to eradicate hunger in Egypt by 2020. Each of the fifty bags includes a full-set menu, encompassing a range of different dishes.

While other restaurants’ Ramadan charity initiatives have been based on the vague notion of contributing a percentage of sales, Tamara’s contributions are among the more direct and, subsequently, more effective – it gets food to those who need it, with no bureaucracy in the middle.

That’s Cool, But How Can I help?

Rather than this just being a faceless donation, all branches of Tamara have been giving diners the chance to write message cards to the people that receive the food, which are then delivered with the meals. On the surface, it’s a small touch, but one that has definitely made a difference to the receivers. Ramadan is of course a time of humility and modesty, and things never feel as communal and mutual as now. What the message cards do is extend that communality and adds a welcome human element to the initiative.

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