Fleeing Syria to Egypt

Kamar prepares chickens for roasting. She is part of Lady of Damascus, a catering business in Alexandria, Egypt, started by Syrian refugee women.

Ghazwa, a co-founder of the group, buys containers and other supplies from a street vendor.

Ghazwa pours out a pot of vegetables for an order for 300 people.

Ghazwa goes over invoices. She is a taskmaster but also has a droll sense of humor.

Ghazwa speaks to a supplier. She often worries about the catering business. Can it stay afloat, given each day’s slender profits?

The women make mini-pizzas.

Mona kneads dough to make the mini-pizzas. “We’ll go home to Syria one day,” she says of her family.

The women of Lady of Damascus, with two of their children.

Some of the group’s signature dishes.

Kamar brings out the chickens. Her family of five owned two homes in Syria but now lives in a cramped apartment not far from the catering kitchen.