Half Upper Egyptian and half foreigner

Memories and recipes from the Italians of Egypt

Author's Name: Ricardo Fred Mancuso

Did you know that one of the most important Italian poets of the modern era was Alexandrian, and that the real designer of the Suez Canal was Italian, not de Lesseps?

Did you know that the founder of the most important Italian artistic and literary movement of the modern era was Alexandrian, and that the first language used in Egyptian mail was Italian?

Did you know that the last king of Italy died and was buried in Egypt, and that the designer of the Commander Ibrahim Mosque and the Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque was Italian?

This fascinating book is difficult to categorize. It tells the story of many Egyptians of Italian descent, about whom most of us know nothing. It contains recipes for the most delicious and famous Italian dishes—as Italians actually cook them—and the history of these dishes. It also includes the enjoyable memories of its author, the young engineer Riccardo, who was born to an Upper Egyptian father and an Italian mother!

A unique mix of amazing stories that always happen in Egypt.

About the author

Riccardo (Omar) Farid Mancuso was born in Cairo in 1978 to an Italian mother from Milan and an Egyptian father originally from Sohag. He spent his childhood and youth in Egypt, then moved to the United States in 2001 to complete his studies in electronic engineering in Maine. He returned to his mother's hometown in Italy in 2005 and settled there. Since the beginning of his career, he has worked in the railway and automation fields, but his favorite hobby, far removed from engineering, remains cooking. He began his love of cooking in the kitchen at his home in Heliopolis with his mother, Daniela. Riccardo also loves fine art and architecture.

His deep sense of belonging to Egypt was largely nurtured by his wanderings through the streets of downtown Cairo with his father, Sobhi. These streets and places later became the setting for Ricardo's stories and memories of the good old days.