You set foot on the streets of the Egyptian city of Nabruh in the Dakahlia Governorate in the Nile Delta. At first glance, you will imagine that you are in a coastal area, although it does not overlook the sea, due to the smell of salted fish emanating from its many shops, which the Egyptians call "Al Fesikh".

"Nabruh is the castle of Fesikh in Egypt," said Sherif Al-Yamani, 44, the owner of one of the most prominent shops selling Fesikh in Nabroh, to AFP, while opening a wooden barrel covered with paper.

The barrel and a number of other barrels near it contain a quantity of fish.

Al-Yamani continues, "We master this profession, and I have been working in this field for 26 years. I learned it from my late brother, who had more than 40 years of experience in it."

He tells that more than a hundred years ago, there were three or four families who started the craft of salting fish. With the passage of time, a large number of residents became skilled in the craft, and the demand for buying fesikh from Nabaruh, "whether on holidays, seasons, or others, became very good," adding, "We receive customers from all governorates of Egypt."

The ancient Egyptians knew Fesikh more than four thousand years ago, according to the prominent Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass, who confirmed in statements in the past that the center of Fesikh or salted fish for the Pharaohs was in Esna in the south of the country.

"In our archaeological discoveries, we uncovered traces proving that the ancient Egyptians salted fish to extend its edibility and for workers to eat it while building the pyramids," Hawass said.

Al-Yamani says that the demand for buying fesikh was high in the week preceding the month of Ramadan, indicating that fasting people fear feeling thirsty if they eat fesikh during the month. After fasting, "everyone is anxious about it."

Al-Yamani attributes the reasons for the popularity of al-Fesikh in Nabaruh to "cleanliness and salting.. We leave al-Fesikh as it is, we only use salt and water with fish."

In other governorates, the producers or sellers of al-fesikh may resort to adding some spices during the salting process, according to al-Yamani, who says that he is keen on respecting the desire of customers who, according to him, tend to prefer the original taste.

In the place, workers are active in rowing the fish one above the other in a specific way after filtering it from the water inside wooden barrels, and they sprinkle coarse salt between the layers of fish, down to the last layer in the barrel. Then they put a plastic bag on the face, and a quantity of salt on top of it to protect it from anything leaking into it.

Some people can't stand the strong smell of fish in the place, but many enjoy eating its meat. Thus, salted mullet or fesikh remains one of the most controversial meals and foods in Egypt.

Karim Abdel-Gawad, a customer of Al-Yamani shop, told AFP, after he bought a quantity of fesikh for him and his family, "I drive my car from the Gharbia governorate to buy fesikh from Nabaruh ... it has a different taste," adding, "experiments do not work with fesikh.. no." You must buy it from a place you know."

During the spring festivals, which are the seasons in which Egyptians eat this meal the most, cases of food poisoning are sometimes attributed to Fesikh.
But Al-Yamani says, "Al-Fisikh is innocent of what is rumored about him, so the way the seller deals with him is the decisive point."

There are certain standards for the preparation of fesikh, it should not be salted while it is still wet, just as there is a certain amount of salt that must be used, to avoid causing poisoning.

Fesikh was affected by the wave of high prices in Egypt. Al-Yamani says, "We did not imagine that we would sell at these prices in Nabroh, but the demand for Al-Fusikh was not affected," he said.

The price of this fish currently ranges between 220 and 240 pounds (about 7 to 8 dollars), per kilogram of large size.

From Cairo, Muhyiddin Abd al-Warith, a police officer, came to Nabrouh to buy fish, and he says that the city is "the source of al-Fassikh," indicating that he is visiting it for the first time, but in the past he used to ask his relatives to buy fish from the place, which is about 150 kilometers away. of the Egyptian capital.