The Family "Test"

The first meal that my Polish father ate at my Syrian grandparents home was meshe. This was his test to see if he was going to be a good addition to the family.

Meshe is the Syrian version of stuffed peppers. Only instead of being made of mostly ground meat, they are made of mostly white rice and small pieces of pork. They are then cooked in a tomato based sauce with carrots. We don't just stuff peppers, but zucchini, eggplants and large carrots. My mouth is watering just thinking about eating it.

Earlier this summer, my mom made a pot of meshe. My boyfriend and I have been together for four years now and he has yet to try meshe. So he was summoned to the dinner table for his "test." Needless to say, he passed with flying colors, just like my father did over 25 years ago.

Then and Now

The picture on the left is from 1961. The picture on the right is from 2003. Doesn't look like much of a difference from the picture, but from the stories I was told growing up, it's changed. Today, Syria has a female vice president (and she's not wearing the traditional Shawl or scarf around her head.) I always thought they were called babushka's.

It seems weird to me that Syria borders Iraq, yet we don't hear much about the country and if they are involved in the war. I have always wanted to go to Syria, but in this time of war, would the citizens welcome Americans?

From what I have read, Syrians are not against America, unlike Egypt is right now. You can't visit Egypt without being in danger. Even the tourist areas are dangerous. They don't want Americans in their country. But Syria welcomes tourists with open arms.

So why do so few tourists visit Syria. Honestly, I think it's because no one really knows that much about it. Yes it's an Arabic speaking country and they do where some of the traditional clothing. But visiting somewhere where you have family roots is special. Hopefully one day i'll get there.

Roommates Mediterranean Food Reaction

Here is the long awaited video of my roommates trying the Mediterranean food. Their reactions are priceless. Enjoy!

Visiting Syria Myself

I have alway wondered what it would be like to take those pictures that I have of my family visiting Syria, and go there myself. Could I possibly find those landmarks that my aunt and uncle took pictures of? Obviously the men in the pictures would be extremely old or passed, but the buildings might still be there, right?

Being the tech-savy nation that we are, I googled it. The first thing that caught my eye was the sentence that Syria is not how the U.S. wants us to believe it is. It is not a terrorist populated nation. Syria has some of the most friendly citizens that visitors form a friendship with. I think that it would be amazing to go there and see a huge olive tree and old hotels. Check out this site:

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/syria

My Family's From Where?

My mom's side of the family is 100% Syrian. Here grandparents came here from Syria. I stumbled across these pictures unfortunately when I was helping my family clean out my great uncle's houses when they passed away. I wish that I could have asked them about these pictures while they were still here.

Some of these pictures are from my Uncle Art and Aunt Nettie's visit to Syria and Jerusalem.

My Uncle Art is the man sitting on the right in a barber shop in Homa, Syria. I think that its so interesting to see how the men are very comfortable posing for the camera and smiling.

That is a picture of an actual olive tree in the Garden of Gethsemene. It's huge!

Uncle Art, called Afif in Syrian, is standing at the foot of steps in Boalbak, Lebanon.

The last picture is of the head waiter at the Ambassador Hotel in Jerusalem. I honestly thought that he was a priest of some sort when I first saw it.

Pictures From The Past

I found a bunch of old photographs from my grandfather's side of the family. These three pictures were taken during a trip to the mid east in 1961.




This picture was taken in 1961 in Jerusalem. It is of an army drill.





This is during a parade in Homs, Syria in 1961.






This is also taken during the parade. I believe it is a traditional dance being performed.

Ephesus - Food Review

I went to one of the Mediterranean restaurants on my google map and I must say that it was phenomenal. Ephesus, on Fourth Street, has a wide variety of Turkish style foods including grape leaves, baklava, humus, and Babaganoush. The grape leaves were perfectly cooked and the humus was scrumptious. The warm pita bread served with the humus added to the wonderful texture. The highlight of the meal was definitely the baklava. It was sweet and flakey.

I would recommend trying Ephesus to everyone. And for those who don't like trying new things, Ephesus has many other items on the menu including pizza.

www.ephesuspizza.com