To Westerners, Damascus and Aleppo have always been the gateways to the Orient, the ancient marble and tile work peeking out along tumbledown medieval streets a reminder of the country’s biblical and classical heritage. Since the eighth century BC, for Asians Syria has been the first glimpse of “the Great Sea,” a great land of culture to the West, as well as home to the most beautiful ancient mosques and churches. Our Syria is a delicious celebration of the unique taste, culture, and food of Syria-and a celebration of everything that food and memory can mean to an individual, to a family, and to a nation. Recipes like the following elicit vibrant images of an ancient culture: They spent months cooking with them, learning their recipes and listening to stories of home. Even now, in possibly the country’s darkest hour, Syrian families in tiny apartments from Beirut to Berlin are searching out the best tomatoes, lemons, pomegranates, and parsley to evoke the memory of home, keeping their treasured food history alive across continents.įriends and passionate cooks Itab and Dina met Syrian women in the Middle East and Europe to collect together the very best recipes from one of the world’s greatest food cultures. Syria has always been the meeting point for the most delicious flavors from East and West, where spices and sweetness collide. Syria is where food, memory, and resilience collide: recreate the flavors of this beautiful country in Our Syria, for delicious meals anywhere in the world.

Our Syria by Dina Mousawi