The food temptations of Syria

Do you enjoy food? Are you a traveler who likes to experience a culture through its cuisine? If so, then Syria should perhaps be on your list of future countries to visit. Yes, Syria. There was a great piece recently on NPR about the rise of Aleppo, Syria, as a destination for food lovers.

Aleppo, in northern Syria, is one of the oldest cities in the world. For a thousand years — maybe more — the city’s residents have had food on the mind. Now, this Middle East gourmet capital is registering on the itineraries of food tourists — and giving Paris and New York some competition.

The romance begins at the city’s outdoor food markets — radishes as big as apples; fresh white cheese bobbing in milky water; shiny green and black olives; hundreds of pickles; and thick pomegranate molasses. Then there are the spice markets, with yellow turmeric, pink rose petals and red sun-dried pepper pastes.

Surrounded by olive, nut and fruit orchards, Aleppo is famous for a love of eating. The cuisine is the product of fertile land and location — along the Silk Road, an ancient trading route…

The International Academy of Gastronomy in France awarded Aleppo its culinary prize in 2007. But Aleppo was a food capital long before Paris. Aleppo’s diverse communities — Arabs, Kurds, Armenians, Circassians, a sizable Christian population — all contributed food traditions, since Aleppo was part of the Ottoman Empire.

The full story has more information about food tourism in Syria. As well as overviews of such local meals as “fava bean soup with a splash of olive oil, lemon juice and Aleppo’s red peppers,” or “kibbe, a deep-fried oval of cracked wheat with … delicately spiced, fragrant lamb in the middle.” Check it out.

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