I once wrote a story for an Egyptian magazine about Fengshui. Now, I know a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. But I decided to see if this ancient geomancy thing could really work.
Near my old place in Cairo was a Japanese-styled restaurant with a pretty back garden. The menu, oddly, served Arabic, Mediterranean, Continental — and shisha.
For a year, I watched waiters and waitresses lolling here and thereabouts as the place suffered poor patronage.
One night, I decided to have dinner over there. I had no idea what came over me, but halfway through I requested to speak to the manager.
When the manager showed up, I started giving him some Fengshui tips.
I told him to shift the mini bridge they had in the back garden to the right because it was blocking the back gate, which was never opened.
I explained the bridge had been blocking the “energy flow” and only increasing “pressure.” I also suggested leaving the back gate open.
Well, the restaurant decided to explore these options. Nothing to lose, right?
Within two weeks after my visit, the restaurant’s business took off like crazy. As the months went by, you had to queue to get a table, inside and in the garden.
Imagine that.
As they say in the Fengshui world, “Too many things in too small a space cut off flow, block creativity, and bury beauty, much like a bad cold can make it hard to breathe.”
