VZCZCXRO9613
RR RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK
DE RUEHEG #6371 2881536
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 151536Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1999
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS CAIRO 006371 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR RICK WATERS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KISL EG
SUBJECT: CAIRO DATE MARKET AS POLITICAL BAROMETER 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
 
¶1. (SBU) In a recent visit to Cairo's bustling date market, 
poloff chatted with several date vendors about their 
merchandise and marketing techniques.  Egyptians 
traditionally break the Ramadan fast with a date - a custom 
that hearkens back to the 7th century, when the Prophet 
Mohammed broke his fast in a similar manner - so Ramadan is 
the peak season for date-sellers, as demand soars.  Since the 
early 1990's, Cairo date vendors have adopted the Ramadan 
marketing gimmick of naming their merchandise after popular 
figures of the past year - normally, singers and actors, but 
depending on the events of the year, sometimes political 
figures.  In past years, the juiciest dates have been named 
after Lebanese pop sensations Haifa Wahby and Nancy Agram, 
beloved Egyptian actress Layla Elwy, Princess Diana (1997), 
Saddam Hussein (2002), and Osama bin Ladin, while the dregs 
of the date barrel have been advertised as Ariel Sharon (a 
popular worst-date name for decades, according to our sample 
of vendors) and President George W. Bush (a worst-date 
standby since 2002). 
 
¶2. (SBU) This year, a new name displaced Lebanese pop stars 
as the most succulent and appealing date - Hassan Nasrallah 
of Hizbullah (termed by various Embassy contacts and one 
controversial local opinion poll as, "the most popular man in 
Egypt," following this summer's Lebanon crisis).  According 
to several date vendors, the prized "Nasrallah" date sells 
for roughly $2 a pound, and "is selling very quickly this 
Ramadan - it is difficult to keep them in stock" (this holds 
true for both the Cairo date market, and its counterpart in 
Alexandria, where econoff spotted bags of highly-priced 
Nasrallahs for sale).  Several vendors commented to poloff 
that they were "proud" to sell something with Nasrallah's 
name - "he is a real Arab hero!" 
 
¶3. (SBU) Many date merchants have termed the second most 
expensive date of 2006 the "Gamal Mubarak"; as one explained 
to poloff, "it is clear that he is going to take his daddy's 
chair soon, so the date market must reflect this political 
reality!"  According to vendors, this is the first year a 
"Gamal Mubarak" date has been sold, and one shopkeeper 
commented to poloff in hushed tones, "we obviously had to 
sell a date with that name at the top of the list, not as a 
dried up date, although the bottom of the list might be where 
we really think he belongs!"  The worst dates of 2006 
(selling at roughly 11 cents per pound) are the "Olmert" 
(after the Israeli PM), "Sharon", "Bush", and the "Rice" (a 
new addition to the least succulent dates of Ramadan 
name-list).  Date merchants told poloff that they relish the 
Ramadan date-naming tradition as an opportunity to express 
opinions, and simultaneously amuse the buying public so as to 
increase sales. 
JONES