Middle Eastern Home Cooking

(image credit)

I want to learn a bit about how to cook. I’m not overly keen about it, just an interest that arises from my desire to invite friends over and to cook for them.

Mallos’ book is a beautiful book – the photos of well-presented dishes and beverages, and her fine, readable writing. I borrowed it from Colin.

So far what I’ve found most interesting and enjoyable is the Introduction, where Mallos relates the historical context of Middle Eastern cooking. According to the Gallup Strength Finder, Context – the desire to learn the past – isn’t a theme that’s at all dominant in my repertoire. In fact it’s one of the lowest five in my theme sequence.

Still, I do want to learn a bit about the context of things here in the Middle East:

Going back to 7000 BC, people began to control their food supply – vegetation and animals. These practices are said to have originated in the Zagros mountains of Iran and the Fertile Crescent – an area of land that curves from the Eastern Mediterranean to the head of the Arabian Gulf, encompassing the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

Egyptian, Persian, Hellenistic (Greek) and Roman influences blended to form a varied but distinctive Middle Eastern cuisine.

Constantinople became the heart of the Byzantine Empire – named after Rome’s first Christian emperor (circa 330 AD) – after the collapse of the Roman empire in 476 AD. Byzantium survived for 11 centuries, and became the center of the Eastern Orthodox Church (what I know to be the origin of Belarusian [and Russian?] Christianity).

But the most important influence on Middle Eastern cooking was the advent of the Sassanids coming into power in 226 AD. They did so, after the end of Alexander the Great’s short-lived empire and the decline of Parthian rule in Persia. They succeeded in part to restore the glory of the Persian Empire of 550-330 BC in the region, including India.

The Persians introduced refined sugar to the region in the 5th century AD, allowing for the wider development of sweet foods and beverages.

Three years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, in 637 AD, the Arabs conquered what is today Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Persia – apparently fueled by their newly found zeal of Islam. Persia, for example, converted to Islam, as the Arabs absorbed Persian culture and cuisine.

“Cassia cinnamon [what is cassia cinnamon?] had come from China via the Silk Road [what and where is the Silk Road?], cardamom and pepper from India, and cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg from the Spice Islands of Indonesia which were obtained by Indian merchants [was there something about the Spice Islands that produced such spices?].” I love reading this description.

Halal, a word I’ve often heard, is now something I know the meaning of: It’s animals that have been slaughtered humanely, according to Islamic law: i.e., facing Mecca, with the slaughterer uttering the phrase “In the name of God; God is most great.”

First Musings on Dubai

I’m interested in being, at some point, a specialized tour guide for mid-end to high-end visitors here in Dubai. So I want to learn a lot about the emirate. Come up not just with facts, but also stories. What is it that locals here know about that’s not well publicized? What is the color, the texture and ambiance beyond the dust and sand, gridlock and the construction jungle? 

*

I see the Dubai skyline in front of me, as I head to work in the morning, anchored by the twin towers of Emirate Towers. The skyline rises out of a cloud of dust and sand – the basic particles of a desert land and the sprawling construction of a city in development. Imagine Claude Monet in Dubai. That’s it. The look of that skyline is impressionistic. The colors and lines are not well defined. It reminds me of Monet’s painting of the London parliament. 

*

A quarter of the world’s cranes are in Dubai. There is hammering of metal outside my apartment, as there’s a development under construction directly facing my windows. Occasionally I can hear the groan and the strain of machinery, but on the whole the noise is muted. I would guess that because Dubai is very much a city on the rise, developers are ensuring good sound insulation for the buildings they’re constructing.

Before it was the Burj Khalifa, it was the Burj Dubai (image credit)

This is very much a walk-about, cross-the-street-anywhere, mall-flocking culture. People are crossing high-speed highways or walking along the shoulder or median of said highways – mostly the migrant workers, I believe. In the horribly congested neighborhoods of Deira, they’ll just walk out in front of you, without apparent fear of getting run over. And the malls are awful on a Friday evening, a Sunday evening etc.

It reminds of my own family. New to the US, many moons ago when we’d go on vacation or a short trip with my cousins et al., first thing it seemed we’d do is go the malls, go shopping for souvenirs etc. Personally I’m not into shopping. I don’t need to travel anywhere to go shopping, as I can go shopping near home.

There must be something comforting about walking ‘round the malls. Perhaps being in the anonymous company of people? Having the freedom to walk about widely, that is, outside the confines of home? Seeking random stimulation from things, signs, lights and sounds?

Interview with Sultan in Riyadh

Allah has 99 attributes.  “Abdul” means “in the servant of…”

Abdulaziz – Majestic
Abdulsalam – Peaceful
Abdulrahman – Merciful
Abdulkareem – Generous
Abdulgafoor – Forgiven

I told Sultan about our visit to Dir’iyyah, especially the view of an oasis from a high plains overlook and its lush green, amidst the earth tones of the surrounding desert. He said, Riyadh has many oases. In fact the name means “oases” (plural).

It is the first capital of Saudi Arabia: the town of Najad arose from the sands three centuries ago. 

It fell to the Ottoman Empire's grip after Ibrahim Basha besieged the town with the marching Turkish army. For this, he was awarded Mecca and all that it stands as a prize for sacking al- Diriyah.

"After the collapse of the state, Al-Diriyah was neglected and its residents abandoned it. They then lived in a primitive manner until the 1950s," said Emir Sultan Bin Selman. 

Al-Diriyah fell and rose from the sands three times, and here it is rising again for the fourth time. But this time it is a different rebirth. It is the revival of history not by rewriting its chronicles, but by introducing history as a genuine part of the present.

"It is not about restoration, it is a about the human being," said the Emir. 

Al-Diriyah was built from mud and thatch and weaved the historical events that changed the face of the region. The Muhammad Bin Saud Palace emerged at the hands of the master builder, Al Najdi Bin Hazeem.

"This palace is considered to be one of the military fortresses of al-Diriyah because it was called the compartment of Omar Bin Saud. 

The fortress is built on a stone base, which made it resilient to the enemy's attacks during the war," said Dr. Al Maghnem.

Building a town in an empty space is an easy task compared to building a city on the ashes of clashing swords, loud calls to prayer, and the cries of horses. 

This is why rebuilding al-Diriyah was not an easy task, taking into consideration the incidents where wisdom mingled with blood and poetry with struggling bodies that collapsed to the ground.

Al- Diriyah is part of an entity and is not only a set of buildings and filming sites.
The story of these entities has not been told yet. 

It is the first real union in the Arab world because it was founded on diversified principles and cultures.

Interview with Yousef in Dhahran

I’ve known that to address a man as the father of his son is a sign of respect: for example, abu Maktoum (“father of Maktoum”) is a respectful way to address Sheik Rashid.

Sheikh Maktoum was the Ruler of Dubai who died last month. He was only 63 years old.

Sheik Maktoum bin Rashid al Maktoum (image credit)

What I didn’t know was the son can also be addressed as abu. Yousef said that the name is taken from the father, if the son is young and doesn’t have children (sons, I suppose).

In this case, the abu address conveys the messages to the son that there are larger things than he.