Cooking the Middle Eastern way

The words “Middle East” can conjure up visions of hot sand, bright blue skies full of sun, and the distant outline of camel caravans trekking across a horizon hazy with heat. To many people, the Middle East is a distant, unfamiliar, and somewhat mysterious region with a history of violence and turmoil. The region does indeed boast a long, intricate, sometimes violent history balanced with a vibrant modern culture. To many a hungry traveler, reader, or local, the Middle East is, above all else, the home of some of the world’s most delicious cooking. From hearty Egyptian bean dishes to the rich lamb entrees of Jordan and Lebanon and the simple pilafs of Armenia, this region’s cuisine offers something to please every palate. So take a trip into a far-off kitchen to discover how to cook the Middle Eastern way. Lamb in yogurt sauce is the national dish of Jordan and is made for special occasions.

(Recipe on pages 64–65.) Mediterranean Sea INDIAN OCEAN Gulf of Oman Black Sea Caspian Sea Red Sea IRAN IRAQ TURKEY SAUDI ARABIA EGYPT OMAN Cairo Amman Sanaa Beirut Damascus Jerusalem Ankara Doha Kuwait City Riyadh Abu Dhabi Masqat Tehran Yerevan Baghdad YEMEN Persian Gulf UNITED ARAB EMIRATES JORDAN ISRAEL LEBANON KUWAIT SYRIA QATAR BAHRAIN ARMENIA History The Middle East has always been a somewhat loosely defined region. It is centered roughly on the land east of the Mediterranean Sea. Some descriptions of the area include most of North Africa, while others extend the region as far east as Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, the nations most commonly considered part of the Middle East are Egypt (in North Africa) and Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, 9 Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Armenia, and Turkey (straddling southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia). These countries represent a wide range of cultures, people, and geography. Traditions, manners, and landscapes vary from nation to nation.Yet they also share great similarities and form what is often called the “cradle of civilization.”This name comes from the fact that some of the world’s first societies emerged in the Middle East. As early as about 5000 B.C., settlements had appeared in the area that became modern Iraq. By about 3000 B.C., early civilizations were thriving in the area. Similar cultures arose throughout the region, focused on three great rivers—the Tigris, the Euphrates, and the Nile. The Tigris and Euphrates begin in the mountains of Turkey and flow through Syria and Iraq. The Nile flows through Egypt. For many centuries, crisscrossing trade routes tied the region together. Merchants carried new goods—and new ideas—between North Africa, eastern Asia, and all the lands in between.The region also became the birthplace of three world religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.