From Where He Walked: Flavors of Jerusalem & A Taste of Turkey

One of my favorite things about traveling abroad is the culture, and a huge part of culture is FOOD! So let me give you a taste of my favorite flavors of Jerusalem and a taste of Turkey.

Flavors of Jerusalem

This is what I call bagel bread! It is found at street-side stands all over the city. Tyler, Ben, and I stumbled upon one of the bakers in one of our adventures and he showed us his humble little bakery- more like a hole in the wall. He bakes tons of it and then puts it on a wood slab that is carried on a young boy's head to one of the stands in East Jerusalem. It is covered in sesame seeds and is sometimes sold with a spice called zatar which you can dip the bread in.

I absolutely LOVE pomegranates, and their little ruby seeds are found in all the fruit markets here. Yum!

Dried fruit and spices. So many colors, smells, and flavors!See the artistic tower in the back? It is a giant mound of spices. Talk about food presentation!

Baklava (above, right) and Magnum bars (below)! The dark chocolate ones are a necessary source of calcium and good for the heart. right?

The last two things are Falafel (left) and Shawarma (right). You haven't been to Israel unless you have tried them both! Some of the students organized an activity with the kitchen staff to learn how to make falafel. The kitchen staff is so nice, and they let us help out! It is basically just chick peas, onion, and parsley, with pepper, salt, and cumin. They put it all through a giant food processor and then fry it. After it was done, we all enjoyed some fresh falafel balls! yum!