The pecking order in Egypt
QUESTION Are Cairo’s inhabitants pigeon fanciers?
EGYPTIANS are ‘pigeon fanciers’, but not in the sense that the term is understood elsewhere.
While on a recent holiday in Egypt, we were staying in Giza, which is technically separate from Cairo, on the west bank of the River Nile. Travelling into Cairo to visited the archaeological museum, our guide pointed out the pigeon lofts built on the roofs of apartment blocks.
Pigeon rearing is a commercial enterprise in Giza and Cairo, as pigeon is regarded as a culinary delicacy. The rooftops of apartment buildings are used for pigeon lofts, with vast numbers of birds being kept at a single location.
The eating of pigeons pre-dates modern times, with records of them providing a staple food going all the way back to Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia (Iraq) more than 5,000 years ago.
Dovecotes used to serve the same purpose in Britain. The interior of the dovecote is made up of nesting boxes (the origin of the term ‘pigeon hole’). A pair of pigeons would choose one in which to lay their eggs. When the baby pigeon (called a squab) hatched, the dovecote keeper would ‘wall’ the squab into the box with a plaster barrier, leaving only a small gap through which the adult pigeons could feed the squab.
This prevented the squab from learning to fly, so its chest muscles never toughened up, making the bird more tender when it was cooked. It also made sure that the squab didn’t eat any food that might taint the meat. The adult pigeons were provided with grain with which to feed the squab.
Commercial pigeon farming is still practised in France.
Bob Cubitt, Northampton.
QUESTION What common foodstuffs that we buy in the shops are cheaper and easier to make for ourselves?
I HAVE to give my vote to baked beans! Prices for the most popular brand of what used to be a cheap part of many a meal have shot up over the past few years.
Finding a recipe for ‘copycat’ baked beans, I set about it with some scepticism. The result was a revelation! I now produce about eight cans’ worth per batch in my slow cooker, with all readily available ingredients, for the equivalent of about 30c per can.
I love the top brands but these are better – give it a go! Alan Sibbet, Fuerteventura, Spain. PRE-PREPARED soups are high in salt and preservatives. Making homemade soup allows you to control the ingredients, flavours, and seasoning.
Likewise, pre-prepared tomato sauces often taste fake and contain large amounts of salt and sugar. All you need to do is cook up some fresh vegetables, chopped tomatoes, herbs and, perhaps, some wine and you can make large batches of beautiful healthy food.
Homemade natural yoghurt can be made in bulk by heating up a couple of pints of milk and stirring in a tablespoon of bio live yoghurt and leaving for 24 hours. Once done, you can use your yoghurt as the starter for the next batch.
Mary Short, Lancaster.
QUESTION How were Archbishops of Canterbury originally selected?
IN MEDIEVAL England and in most of Europe at that time, the only form of Christianity was the Church of Rome, headed by the Pope. It had a strict hierarchical structure with two distinct paths: the secular clergy and the monastic. Most archbishops were drawn from the secular clergy and, in theory, a man must have progressed along that path, stage by stage, in order to be considered for the position of archbishop.
At the bottom of the ladder were door-keepers, effectively caretakers for parish churches. Next came acolytes, who can be compared with young apprentices; they observed and assisted in services and were schooled in Latin. Above them were lectors and deacons, who played a more important role in assisting priests performing Mass and other services.
Ordained priests and chaplains formed the middle ranks and mainstay of church hierarchy; priests were appointed to parish churches while chaplains were privately funded by wealthy patrons and could not perform weddings, funerals or baptisms. Archdeacons formed the next level and their role was mainly administering sections of a diocese.
They were subordinate to bishops, who each held a diocese and were associated with cathedrals (the word comes from the
cathedra or ‘seat’ of a bishop), and held considerable power and influence both within the church and in matters of state. They could occupy a palace and hold large areas of land.
Only two archbishops were appointed in England, at York and Canterbury, with the latter considered the senior of the two. To be proposed as archbishop, a man needed to have progressed through all these stages.
From the late 11th century, bishops and archbishops were often proposed by wealthy nobles or the king himself rather than being selected by church officials, leading to the ‘Investiture Controversy’, a struggle lasting 45 years that, when resolved in favour of the church, strengthened the papacy at the expense of local monarchies and gave bishops freedom from secular political authorities.
The case of Thomas Becket represents a supreme example of secular interference in church matters, since he was previously Lord Chancellor to Henry II and was not even ordained as a priest when the king nominated him Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162.
David Rayner, Canterbury, Kent.
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