Middle East - Anthony Ham [82]
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In Turkey, the two largest producers are Doluca and Kavaklıdere. Doluca’s best wines are its Özel Kav (Special Reserve) red and white. Kavaklıdere’s most popular wines are the quaffable Yakut red and Çankaya white. Elsewhere, Egypt has a growing viticulture industry, but the product is pretty unimpressive – Grand de Marquise is the best of a lacklustre bunch. Syrian wine is diabolically bad, and most of the local tipplers stick to the Lebanese drops, which are also available. Israeli wine is improving, and Carmel, Golan, Barchan, Tishbi and Tzora all have reasonable reputations. For more coverage of Israeli wines, see the boxed texts, Click here and Click here.
If there is a regional drink, it would have to be the grape-and-aniseed firewater known as rakı in Turkey and as arak (lion’s milk) in the rest of the region. The aniseed taste of these two powerful tipples perfectly complements mezze. You’ll find many Middle Easterners for whom mezze without arak (combined with water and served in small glasses) is just not taking your mezze seriously.
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Water warning
Many locals don’t drink the tap water and we recommend that you follow their lead. If you do decide to risk the local stuff, the safest places to do so are in Israel, Syria and Turkey. Don’t even think of drinking from the tap in Egypt, Iraq, the Palestinian Territories or Lebanon. Some expats may try to convince you otherwise with various degrees of conviction – one foreigner living in Cairo told us, ‘You can drink the water in Cairo, I swear. It just tastes less than delicious.’ Cheap bottled water is readily available throughout the region.
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Nonalcoholic Drinks
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The Turks love boza, a viscous mucus-coloured beverage made from fermented burghul with water and sugar that has a reputation for building strength and virility.
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Juice stalls selling cheap and delicious freshly squeezed asiir (juices) are common throughout the region. Popular juices include lemon (which is often blended with sugar syrup and ice, and sometimes with mint), orange, pomegranate, mango, carrot and sugar cane, and you can order combinations of any or all of these. For health reasons, steer clear of stalls that add milk to their drinks.
Other traditional drinks include aryan, a refreshing yogurt drink made by whipping yogurt with water and salt to the consistency of pouring cream. This is widely available throughout the region and is a ubiquitous accompaniment to kebabs. Another favourite is the delicious and unusual sahlab (sahlep in Turkey), a drink made from crushed tapioca-root extract and served with milk, coconut, sugar, raisins, chopped nuts and rosewater. Famed for its aphrodisiacal properties, it is served hot in winter and cold in summer.
In the baking heat of an Egyptian summer, coffee and tea drinkers forgo their regular fix for cooler drinks such as the crimson-hued, iced karkadai, a wonderfully refreshing drink boiled up from hibiscus leaves, or zabaady (yogurt beaten with cold water and salt).
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CELEBRATIONS
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The Arab Table: Recipes and Culinary Traditions, by May Bsisu, takes a holistic approach that blends practical recipes with discursive sections on Arab culinary philosophy, with a special focus on celebratory meals.
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Food plays an important part in the religious calendar of the region and holy days usually involve a flurry of baking and hours of preparation in the kitchen.
Ramadan & Other Islamic Celebrations
The region’s most important religious feasts occur during Ramadan (Ramazan in Turkish), the Muslim holy month. There are two substantial meals a day during this period. The first, imsak (or sahur), is a breakfast eaten before daylight. Tea, bread, dates, olives and pastries are scoffed to give energy for the day ahead. Iftar, the evening meal prepared to break the fast, is a special feast calling for substantial soups, rice dishes topped with almond-scattered grilled meats and other delicacies.