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Next Stop: Tourists Return to an Ancient Crossroads in Syria
By LIONEL BEEHNER
A new wave of visitors is rediscovering Aleppo, an ancient trading center, eager to take advantage of its low prices, spicy cuisine and mazelike bazaar.
Anyone familiar with the politics of the Levant knows its governments’ propensity to monitor reporters, & many of us “heard” what was left out of this piece when Ms. Amos listed members of Aleppo’s ethno-religious mix. Serious students of Middle Eastern food history know about the ancient community of Jews, whose renowned dishes were once a piece of Aleppo’s culinary mosaic.(Jewish dietary restrictions fostered distinctive variations of classic Aleppo dishes.)
Today, members of the Aleppine diaspora here in the Americas, like so many immigrant communities before them, define themselves through their cooking. Many who keep alive Aleppo Jewery’s cuisine-within-a-cuisine would love to return to the land where it all began, to experience this Syrian renaissance.
Damascus,Washington,Tel Aviv–tune in! Keep cooking, Brooklyn & Buenos Aires, where okra still simmers in tamarind sauce…
We who love the cuisines of the Middle East are acutely aware of their power–to ignite friendships & melt differences.Opening Syrian borders to gastro-tourism is a welcome development. I can hear the kibbe frying…