In the heart of London lies Edgware Road, reputed worldwide as the Arab Road due to the large number of Arabs who either live or work in the vicinity, or the tourists who flock there


In the heart of London lies Edgware Road, reputed worldwide as the Arab Road due to the large number of Arabs who either live or work in the vicinity, or the tourists who flock there.

The area has a thriving Arab community and boasts of the highest density of Arabic speakers in the capital of England. It is one of the most colourful areas to live and shop.

For a long time, London has attracted throngs of Arabs from Egypt, Morocco, Palestine, Yemen, Lebanon, the Gulf and Iraq. Some Arabs settled there after completing their studies and others came in as refugees.

According to a BBC World Service report, it is estimated that around half a million Arabs live in the UK. A mixture of the professional and unskilled, they came in search of employment, mostly from Egypt and Morocco. Some also arrived from the Gulf to set up businesses in the UK. And the Lebanese flocked there after the civil war, as did the Iraqis and others from Arab countries.

Arabs have not altered their usual lifestyle in London. It is common to see them in the jellabiah (an Arabic robe) with their heads covered in the traditional ghutra (white Arabic head dress). Despite the cosmopolitan nature of London, Arabs have not integrated into European society, but have retained their way of life. They still look odd in this community.

On Edgware Road, the Lebanese have taken advantage of the growth of London's café society, opening up coffee shops and patisseries all over the area.

Edgware Road is dotted with shop signboards written in Arabic with English translations written in small print below. This lends the impression that the neighbourhood is, in effect, transplanted from an Arab country.

Arabic coffee shops, complete with shisha, are ubiquitous on this little stretch of London. Abu Ali, a Lebanese who has his own coffee shop on Edgware Road, said they also serve Turkish or Arabic coffee. Every evening, he feels transported to Beirut or Cairo, or even the old areas of Damascus.

Murad, his wife, Amirah, and their son, Ahmed, said despite the fact that they have lived in London for a long time, they do no not feel home sick due to the large number of Arabs who have set up their home and community here.

At any time of day - morning or night - one can hear the voice George Wassof, the famous Arabic singer, blaring loudly from a shop or cafe. Reminding Arabs of their homelands, Umm Koulsom's and Fairouz's songs are much loved by the denizens of this little stretch of Arabia on European soil.

The strife in the Middle East has its repercussions here, too. In front of an Arabic shop, a Palestinian man wearing the Cofiya or 'traditional Palestinian scarf' stands calling out to people, asking them not to patronise certain shops because they support Israel. In London's inimitably free way, nobody interferes with him. He is allowed his own way of defending his country.

And if one takes a look at Edgware Road in London, to see the peaceful way Arab and Britons live, one will discover that the incidents of September 11 have had no bearing on the British people's point of view regarding their relations with Arabs, no matter what their government's political stance.

It is interesting - and comforting - to see signboards written in Arabic for restaurants, Al Razi Pharmacy, Al Wadi Al Akhdar supermarket, or Meshwar coffee shop and Ahmed Real Estate.

Arabs in London take hospitality very seriously and joyously. Traditional Arabic coffee or mint tea is served at the end of a meal in all the restaurants. Restaurants serving food from individual Arab countries are to be found all over London, especially the West End.

The Lebanese restaurants and food shops offer a variety of fresh, traditional products. They sell pickled vegetables, olives, a myriad selection of pastries filled with nuts, tahina and a variety of cheeses and yoghurts.

Halal meat counters, traditional Arabic breads and herbs such as molokea being sold on the streets, all add to the feeling of being magically transported to an Arabian landscape. A grill restaurant offers homemade Moutabal, Labneh and Houmous, amongst an interesting range of dishes that remind all of home.

Amidst the rumours of a crackdown by western governments on some Arabs, presumed to be linked to terrorist groups, the situation has created a need amongst the Arab community to promote the positive view of Arabic life, focussing on their cultural activities. And this the Arabs of Edgeware Road are doing admirably.