Zarzour a.k.a. Tarek Labib

You had just arrived to Cairo from California.

It was Ramadan of 1999 or 2000 and something. My wonderful sister Shahira invited you, and your pony tail, for Iftar at my mother's house. I was the only family member and invitee fasting.

Shahira told us that she was inviting a very interesting architect friend of hers who had just arrived to Egypt, and who knew no one here. She wanted to make you feel at home at our family place.

What a non-conformist, funny looking, broken Arabic speaking, fat, awkwardly suspender dressed , environment friendly, non-fasting man you were!!

I endured several hours of very humorous observations you made of our country, especially during Ramadan, and of how Egypt had changed. "You are still fasting in this day and age ya Ismain"? you asked me a minute before Iftar. I wanted to bite your ear off, but restrained myself because I was still fasting.

You spoke about California and your life there. You spoke about your family, and how you loved your brother Hesham. You talked of how you had a yearning to meet your long lost friends, and make an environmentally architectural  difference in Egypt . You spoke about your mother and your relationship with her . The lengthy diatribe reminded me of the archetypical American passenger spilling his heart out while sitting next to him in an economy seat on a flight from New Zealand to New York. I wanted to murder you.

After, the Iftar was over I told Shahira "When on earth are you going to stop befriending these social misfits"?

This social misfit became one of my closest and dearest friends, and family member, ever since. Does this sound familiar to you too?

Zarzour's story is classic. We all have a Zarzour, or Zarzours, that come across our way in our lives. They epitomise how we are all conditioned to assess, define and classify the people we meet. They turn out to be none of the Zarzours we had judged during our first encounter.

Funny looking: You were definitely not. I think you were the coolest looking guy on this planet.

Broken Arabic speaking: I could listen to you talk for hours in your broken accent. You were so much more coherent, knowledgeable, interesting, charming, and genuine than the most eloquent Arabic speaking men of our times.

Fat: Yes, you were fat. After knowing you, I didn't see fat. We talked a lot about our love of food. I jog 6 km 4 times a week. You walk them in a year. Who is happier? Our conclusion was that we are both happy with the way we are. It is not about how long we live, but the quality of how long we live.

Awkwardly dressed:  You looked trendy in anything you wore.

Environment friendly: Very fitting that the Paris Climate Change Conference was held a couple of days before your moving on. Your home in Abou Sir is an environment friendly masterpiece. You are a genius when it comes to building environment friendly homes. There is not enough space in this ode to you to enumerate your observations and recommendations on how to build today's age homes. Walking in to your abode was a revelation. I consider myself privileged to have had the honour to enter, eat, sleep and enjoy this wonderful place you humbly called home. A true masterpiece in architectural and interior design. A work of genius. You are the Van Gogh of environment friendly architecture. You unfortunately shall be immortalised for your design long after you have left us. I don't think people are yet able to understand where you were going with your designs. You are way ahead of our times. My heart bleeds for another lunch, cooking your flowers, and enjoying your home and friends.

Tarek's Abou Sir Masterpiece

Non Fasting: No comment.

Last Wednesday you didn't show up for dinner.  It was a dinner you would never miss. One of the Pop Up dinners we enjoyed together so much!! Your seat remained empty till we all went home. You called in to say you didn't feel well. Don't we all sometimes? Yet the lesson I now have unfortunately learned is to always go back to check on a friend who is unwell. Never leave an unwell friend alone. Never, ever, if you truly care.

They say that our souls linger around for several days after we die. If they are right, then let us all say a little soft and gentle prayer for Zarzour. Let us wish you a lovely journey onwards and send you a ray of tender loving light. You deserve it our friend. You gave us days of your loving light, it is time we returned some of ours.

We will not mourn your loss, but we will celebrate your life. We will hold a party in your honour in a  place you loved dearly. We will sing and laugh and remember you, because we have not left you, despite you leaving us.

Please be there for us when it is our time. There will not be a lovelier, gentler, warmer, welcoming, and loving face to see on the other side.

The Zarzour and I