Restaurant serving up Egyptian fare is buzzing in Gaza
Despite hard economic times in the Gaza Strip, Egyptian national Osama Hassan's koshari restaurant is attracting customers.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — In 1987, Egyptian national Osama Hassan left his homeland for Rome at the age of 26 in search of a job. He spent 26 years in Italy, first working as a sous-chef in several pizzerias and then, after eight years, Hassan opened his own pizza restaurant.
Within a decade, the ambitious chef had opened three restaurants in Rome offering Italian-style pizza, meat dishes and all types of pasta.
However, Hassan, now 55, yearned to return to the Arab world. He sold his restaurants, left Italy and headed to Gaza, where he opened a restaurant that specializes in kushari, a traditional Egyptian dish made of rice, macaroni and lentils. The move was a success, and his decision to relocate to Gaza appeared to be much more profitable than heading back to Egypt.
On Omar al-Mukhtar Street in the center of Gaza City, hundreds of customers from all over the Gaza Strip head to Hassan’s Nile Kushari restaurant, which is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day.
