Damascus Souk (notice the bullet holes in the ceiling)

Months before Lila and I begin our trip around the world, we contemplated the difficulty of eventually crossing the border into Syria. The Syrian embassy in San Francisco would only allow us to obtain visas issued in the U.S. three months prior to our visit. This would pose a problem since we would be passing into Syria almost seven months after leaving the States. We wrote a letter to the passport office requesting second passports in case we would need to send them back to the U.S. to secure our visas from the road. We couldn’t imagine the logistics necessary to pull this off, but we got them just in case. In Dar es Salam, Tanzania we went to both the Syrian and U.S. embassies to see if we could get our visas there. No luck. In addition to visa issues, the U.S. Syrian relationship has been a dodgy one ever since good ole Georgie W declared Syria a “Rogue State” and nearly crippled their tourist industry. So when it came time to cross the border from Jordan into Syria, we were more than a little weary of being turned away.

After five comfortable hours at the nicest and cleanest border station that we’ve been to so far, where we were even able to buy a bottle of Johnny Walker at the air conditioned super Duty-Free (as you may imagine, it is not always so easy to get alcohol in a Muslim state), and we were on our way to Damascus.

Tea Merchant, Damascus

Damascus, thought to be one of, if not the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world is a seemingly effortless blend of old world charm and modern city life. We settled into a nice little guesthouse in a neighborhood just between the Old City and the New Town, lined with small street-side cafes where the young international backpacker crowd mingled with the locals over tea and nargila (shisha, hooka, hubbly-bubbly), and backgammon. Wherever you go in the Middle East there seems to be no shortage of any of these vices. Lila and I were happy to join them each afternoon after seeing the sites.

Just a short distance from our hotel and we were strolling through Damascus’ famous souks, old world markets lined with shops and stalls selling everything from fabric, gold and silver jewelry, clothing, produce, delectable sweets, and an amazing selection of multi-hued spices piled high into colorful pyramids. Tea vendors, literally wearing giant copper teapots on their backs, sold cup after cup of the national obsession to passersby. Men in white uniforms pressed and pulled giant globs of ice cream, rolling the scoops in sliced pistachios before serving them to the waiting crowd. The bullet holes in the high arched tin roof, left over from France’s unsportsmanlike exit from Syria, allowed in columns of natural light that made the entire scene even more surreal.

From the Putting on special clothes collection

We exited the market and we’re greeted with the site of the Umayyad Mosque. One of Islam’s most important mosques, especially important to the throngs of Iranians on pilgrimage. Groups of Iranian women clad from head to toe in black blended with the multitude of families and tourists in an almost park-like setting within the walls of the mosque. Children ran and played in the absolution fountain. Lila had to go to the “Putting on special clothes room” where she was made to dawn an Obi Wan Kenobi inspired outfit that covered her from head to toe before being allowed inside.

Back outside of the mosque and the city broke into a maze of narrow winding streets peppered with an eclectic array of shops, hotels, and food stalls. More mosques, more shops, more food and we worked our way to the “Christian Quarter”. Aside from the churches (Roman, Greek, Catholic, Armenian) that replaced the mosques, and the liquor stores (yes it’s a theme in our life), the neighborhood spiraled and meandered back into the Islamic Quarters. These two communities seem to exist peacefully in a city that owes so much to the interconnection between both their cultures and traditions.

Ancient Roman City of Palmyra

From Damascus we headed East to the ancient Roman city of Palmyra, less than 160 kilometers from the border of Iraq. Once ruled by the Syrian Queen Zenobia, the city was one of the richest and most prominent cites set up by the Romans along the important trade routes in the Middle East. Palmyra is also the largest intact Roman ruin outside of Rome. Lila and I ascended on the city at sunset. The rose colored stone back lit by the sun was stunning. The town of Palmyra, itself, is small and unassuming, but we did manage to find a good meal (and beer:) in a cave-like restaurant in the basement of a local hotel.

The next morning we boarded a bus north to the city of Hama. Famous for it’s norias, giant water wheels, once used to draw water from the river that flows through the middle of the city to the hills above. The wheels were beautiful and the impressive squealing sound that they made as they turned, wood on wood, was memorable. In addition to being a nice little city for a walk-a-bout, Hama is also the jumping off point to some of Syria’s more famous attractions.

A famous Hama noria

The following morning we jumped aboard a small tour bus that took us west through beautiful Syrian countryside – dotted with trees and lined with small flowered strewn villages, it was a welcome relief from so much of the countries rocky terrain. We first visited the Saint George Monastery, where legend has it Saint Paul once holed up, sheltered from an angry Arab mob, before being lowered with his horse out the back window where he fled to his safety. Next came the Krak des Chevaliers, a famous crusader castle that seemed to be pulled right off the pages of a J.R.R. Tolkien novel.

Krak des Chevaliers

Finally we made our way to Syria’s most populated and most northern city of Aleppo. Similar in many ways to Damascus, but more conservative and with less charm (only my opinion), Aleppo did have some fine sites to see. Beautiful mosques and churches, and the Allepo Citadel (ancient military fortress) was an amazing castle in its own right, now standing guard over a promenade of tourist cafes and the entrance to the cities Grand Souk. Lila and I spent our free time in the cities Christian Quarter, where we found the best restaurants and cafes. Oh, and beer.

The following day we headed into Turkey…

Click here for our Syria photos.

STRANGE CONVERSATIONS WITH SYRIANS

Young waiter in Hama after I told him I was from San Francisco: “Is it true that all people in San Francisco wear black and worship the devil?”

Me: A lot of people do wear black, but I have never met one that worships the devil. Where did you hear that?

Young waiter: I read it in a book at school.

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Unsolicited conversation with a guy on the street about politics: “Everyone knows that most of the American presidents fathers were Jews. Do you question this?”

Me: Actually Barrack Obama’s father was a Muslim.

Guy on street: Maybe there is some hope for Syria then?

He went on to tell me that the Jews control all of the media, all Jews hate Arabs, etc… I got away from him asap.

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Old Man in Damascus souk: Why does George Bush hate Arabs? (he went on to pantomime the entire Iraq war)

Me: I don’t know.

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Random Syrian Dude: Why did you come to Syria? Are you CIA?

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Before setting out on our world adventure I had decided to use this trip productively to learn all I could about the cuisines of the world. My plan was to take an occasional cooking class and sample the variety of yummy things each unique country had to offer. Eight months into the trip and I’ve only managed a week long cooking course in Peru and with our budget stretched so tight the serious wining and dining I had dreamt of has been sparse. We have, however, taken full advantage of all the wonderful street food on offer, and have, none the less, had incredible meals along the way.

Mariscada, El Salvador

We started the trip off right with a three day stop in the country of El Salvador. Meant to be just a lay-over on our way to Costa Rica we stretched it out a bit and spent our time sampling what was to be had on the streets, in markets, and seaside restaurants. The star of the show, and still one of our culinary highlights, was the papusa. A thick masa tortilla stuffed with a range of various filling, the squash blossom and zucchini was my favorite, Jeff preferred the chicharon. We tried the famous mariscada (creamy seafood soup), fried fish, and snacked on crisp plantain chips sprinkled with chili and lime.

Moving on to Costa Rica, in my opinion not one of the most interesting places to visit for their food, we contented ourselves with cooking at home with the aid of the fantastic Mancha’s chicken. A small rotisserie place that turned out dozens of succulent, smoky chickens every day. We used them for enchiladas, soft tacos, made salads and sandwiches, and rolled them into taquitos topped with crema and guacamole.

Preparing Ingredients for Our Cooking Class

Next stop, a gem of a country for the hungry traveler, Peru. With such a unique cuisine Peru was a great place to settle down and take a week of cooking classes. We headed out every morning to the fantastic market in Huancayo then back to the kitchen to prepare our meal for the day. The highlights of the week had to be the deep friend guinea pig (cuy) served with a spicy peanut sauce somewhere between the Thai version and a Mexican mole, and the aji de gallina, chicken topped in a creamy sauce made of fresh cheese and the indigenous yellow chili. We learned how to make the national drink chicha morada, An interesting concoction of blue corn and sugar spiced with cinnamon served chilled. In Lima we dined on ceviche and chupe de cameron (a creamy prawn soup thickened with rice). At Lake Titicaca we had fresh trout and the lovely colonial city of Arequipa for some reason was full of delicious falafel stands.

Chili was another bleak country for the pallate. The northern beach towns were filled with street stalls selling salcipappa, soggy French fries topped with chopped up hotdogs. As we headed south the options slightly improved, but still unable to find much to appease our taste buds we comforted ourselves with bottles of Chili’s famous red wine instead.

On the other hand Argentina is a meat eaters paradise – tender steaks and blood sausage, sweetbreads, and any other part of the bovine body thrown on the grill served up with a glass of juicy red wine. We ate empanadas so flakey stuffed with stewed chicken or spiced ground meat. The strong coffee was also much appreciated after suffering through nescafe for the past two months and the Italian style gelato (especially ruby grapefruit) was divine in the summer heat.

Fried Fish in Ilha Bela

Brazilians seem to like things fried. On the island of Ilha Bela we had fresh whole fish deep fried and sprinkled with fried garlic, Fried calamari and fried croquettes with cheese and shrimp, all washed down with the national caiprinha, a cocktail of sugarcane rum, fresh lime and sugar, sometimes with a dash of tropical fruit.

Across the Atlantic the cuisine of the Seychelles was interesting with the islands rich Creole culture. Ginger and garlic are used in profusion and fresh creamy coconut milk thickens the fish curries. The island is covered in little take-away spots selling dishes such as spiced rice, fish samosas, octopus curry, stewed goat and creole lentils. Bat, or flying fox, was a specialty that we never had the chance to try, we were told, however, that it is hard to eat with all the little bones and tasted a bit like chicken. One of our duties at the GVI base was cooking for the other 25 volunteers and staff and we were forced to get creative with the limited supplies on hand. We managed to cook lentils 100 different ways and the breadfruit fried into chips were very tasty. Luckily fresh fish was in abundance and grilled up with Hazel’s Creole sauce and a side of chapattis, we were eating like kings.

Hazel Prepares Our Evening Meal

HAZEL’s Creole Tomato Sauce

Fry a chopped onion with a little sugar until lightly browned add a head of chopped garlic and about a 4 inch piece of grated ginger, continue to fry and add 2-3 cans of tomatoes a little more sugar and a little tomato paste. Add salt and pepper and curry powder to taste. Serve on grilled fish.

We continued our culinary adventure on the African Mainland starting in Kenya with fresh roasted peanuts we bought from the street vendors served in paper cones. I think you haven’t had a peanut until you’ve had one in Africa. The markets were filled with women frying up chapattis and men grilling up skewers of various meat. Crossing into Uganda the roads were lined with enormous bunches of red bananas, known for their sweetness. We were lucky to have Mwai, our Kenyan cook on safari, cooking us his infamous coconut lentils and sautéed kale. Further on we reached the spice island paradise of Zanzibar. I was in heaven with the liberal amount of spices used in everything from the rice to the coffee. We visited a spice plantation were we sampled fresh turmeric, munched on clove leaves, ate fresh lychee, cracked open fuit to reveal nutmeg at its center and pealed cinnamon bark straight off the tree. The rice pilaf was the base of every meal studded with cardamom and cloves and again coconut milk was used widely in dishes as simple as stewed red beans. My obsession for chapattis continued with gusto in Zanzibar, by far the best I’ve had. Rolling the dough into a coil before flattening them into thin rounds and pan frying them on a open flame, the end result is the most delicate, flakey flatbread, perfect on its own as you stroll the narrow back streets of Stonetown. Zanzibar is also host to a bustling night market where tables are covered with skewers of octopus, shrimp, mussels, barracuda and a variety of other fish waiting to be grilled, chefs in their towering hats prepare the Zanzibar pizza, a dough stretched as thin as possible topped with meat, cheese, tomatoes, onions and an egg then fried to crisp. Adjacent to the pizza stall men pressed out every last bit of juice from a stalks of sugarcane with ginger and a squeeze of lime. After a night at the market we would end the evening near our hotel with a spicy sweet brew of ginger tea and watch as local life went on around us.

Cookıng Up a Zanzıbar Pızza

A flight to the north of the continent and the food couldn’t be more different. Egypt is not known for its cuisine, but what we had did not disapoint. I’ll start with the fruit juices’…stalls with a myriad of fresh fruit were practically on every corner. The lemon with a hint of fresh mint was the best possible thing when the weather was unbearable. We were able to eat falafel sandwiches’ for less then a quarter and the staples of hummus and babganoush were always fresh. Olive oil was used in abundance as the Mediterranean influences began to show and fresh salads of tomatoes and cucumber accompanied every meal.

Traveling on into Jordan there were subtle changes, more yogurt and lebneh, the use of fresh thyme and mint. In the dessert of Wadi Rum our Bedouin guide cooked us a meal of chicken and potatoes with rice buried under the sand, such simple goodness. We had one of our best meals in the town of Madaba at Haret Jdoudna, set in a restored old house we sat on the terrace dining on fried eggplant topped with mint, Kibeh (balls of bulgur stuffed with spiced lamb and fried), fresh goat cheese drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with thyme, and fresh lamb sausage so perfectly spiced and sautéed with preserved lemon and garlic all accompanied by a fantastic Sauvignon Blanc from the same region.

Mezzes in Aleppo

Moving up into Syria the food got even better. Flatbreads topped with ground lamb and minced olives were sold in corner bakeries. Muhamara, a dip of ground walnuts, roasted peppers and pomegranate began to show up with the usual mezzes. Spice markets were filled with piles of sumac and Aleppo chilies, dried flower blossoms, and purple and green pistachios. Men on the street were selling fresh blackberry juice, and ayran, a salted yogurt drink, was on every table. .

We’ve now made it into Turkey and the food has been fantastic. In Cappadocia we ate pide, Turkish pizza with a variety of toppings, night after night. The ground lamb with mint and onion is always a good bet. In Konya we stumbled upon a group of ladies rolling out fresh Gozleme, a hand rolled pastry, they then stuffed them with potatoes and mint and further south in Kas we dined on fresh fish. That brings us to Kabak were we are spending our days high on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean and Fatih, the owner of our pension, The Olive Garden, cooks us dinner every night with the fruits and vegetables from his garden.

Click here to see my food gallery

Click here to see Jeff’s ” beers of the world”

Bordered by Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and the Palestinian Territories, Jordan sits precariously smack dab in the middle of a powder keg of swirling political turmoil, yet manages to keep a balance between the tugging idealogies surrounding it. Some refer to Jordan as the Switzerland of the Middle East, and it’s easy to see why with the laid back attitude of its people and their young King (Abdullah II) pushing for progressive social and political reforms (Jordan is a constitutional monarchy – so let’s just say they are progressive for monarchs).

We started our tour in Wadi Musa and the ancient Nabatean city of Petra. Though built in the first century, Petra was most recently made popular to our generation by Indian Jones’ quest for the Holy Grail. Walking through the narrow mile long canyon entrance, towering rose colored walls lead you to one of the most spectacular sites – the Petra “Treasury” (see video above). An actual tomb, the so called treasury derived it’s name long ago based on a myth that the urn carved above the entrance held hidden treasures. Bullet marks in the urn reflect the misguided attempts to release the imagined fortunes. We spent two days hiking in the canyon exploring the vast city that was once an important trading hot spot for not only the Nabateans, but also the Greeks, the Romans, and the Egyptians.

Rock Bridge, Wadi Rum

Next we set out for Wadi Rum (Wadi means desert), made famous by T.E. Lawrence who became somewhat of a celeb fighting along side his Arab friends as they fought againsts the OttomanTurks for their independence. We spent a beautiful day and night in the desert with our bedouin host Abdullah, smoking shisha, sipping bedouin tea, and sleeping under more stars than we’ve even seen.

Lila afloat on the Dead Sea

Next we headed north to the city of Madaba, where we rented a car and drove west to the coast to float in the Dead Sea. Diluted with thirty percent salt, as opposed to the normal three percent of the rest of the worlds seas, it is almost impossible to drown in the Dead Sea. In fact, it’s nearly impossible to get your head under water, not that you would want to. Salt doesn’t only make the water very bouyant, it also makes places on your body sting that you didn’t even know existed.

Wadi Mujib

After a night in our sea side chalet, we headed into the Wadi Mujib nature reserve where we spent the day canyoning – scrambling with life-jackets up a narrow gorge against the current of a crystal clear river, swimming through rapids, climbing waterfalls, jumping off tall rocks into whirling pools. One of the most memoriable days in Jordan.

From Wadi Mujib we headed south east, stopping at the crusader castle of Al Karak and finally settling for the evening in the village of Dana. Built among the 300 year old ruins, and overlooking the Dana nature reserve, Dana turned out to be the perfect place to spend our final days enjoying Jordan’s beautiful natural surroundings before heading further north to the capital city of Amman where would would catch the bus to Syria.

Click here for a map of the Middle East.

Click here for our Jordan photos.

“We come spinning out of nothingness, scattering stars like dust”

Whirling Dervish performance at the Mevlana (Rumi) Mausoleum – Konya, Turkey.

“It may be that the satisfaction I need depends on my going away, so that when I’ve gone and come back, I’ll find it at home.” — Rumi