No one truly knows whether Russia’s Tsar Nicholas I, in fact, referred to the Ottoman Empire as the “Sick Man of Europe.” But three things are certain: (1) that sick man liked to drink; (2) he liked to eat, and; (3) when that sick man died, he left behind the meze (or “mezze”) he … [Read more...]
WORLD FARE: Ishtar Restaurant: fighting ISIS one falafel at a time
There was once an old Vietnam-era slogan on posters, buttons, bumper stickers and T-shirts. Today it would, no doubt, be a ubiquitous Facebook meme: Join the Army; travel to exotic, distant lands; meet exciting, unusual people and kill them. It had resonance because it … [Read more...]
TURKEY: Pammukale
Turkey is exotic. It has been so for centuries -- millennia even -- becoming in Western European minds the very definition of "the other." Its exoticness, though, is of a particularly beguiling quality. There is just enough that is familiar to raise the comfort level. Istanbul … [Read more...]
MIDDLE EASTERN TRAVEL: Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv is, especially for a Southern Californian, the most comfortably familiar city in Israel. It feels at once urban and yet laid back. The sensation is not unlike a beach community in San Diego or Los Angeles; secular, hedonistic and modern. … [Read more...]
ISRAEL: Coffee Braised Lamb Shoulder in Pita
For millennia, Israel has been the destination for countless journeys made for many different reasons; some sacred, others profane and many mundane. Israel is, of course, a singular point of convergence and conflict amongst three of the world’s great religions: Judaism, … [Read more...]