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Tea
Tea and other beverages are an important part of Arabic culture.
Invariably, during brisk negotiations in the souk, small glasses
of extremely sweet tea will appear. The Arabic people, though
world-class hagglers, never forget their famous hospitality.
Black tea is the most common, usually the Lipton brand
name. You can also find a delicious tea made from hibiscus
flowers - zouhourat. This tea has a light yellow
colour and a delicate, flowery flavour. It's sometimes used
for stomach upset also, and has a calming effect - whether
this is physical or psychological is debatable, but it seems
to work for the Arabs. Most popular in Morocco, but also found
through the Arab world is mint tea - which is green
tea with mint leaves jammed in the glass, and a liberal sprinkle
of sugar. Utterly delicious!
Coffee
Coffee, kahwa, is like the Turkish variety,
brown, thick and strong, drunk in tiny espresso cups. It's
called "arabic coffee", but it's indistinguishable
from the Turkish variety - most Arabs will probably tell you
the same. After all, it was the Ottomans that brought it to
this area when Europe was still struggling through the uncivilised
Middle Ages. "American style" black coffee - kahwa
amreekee - is usually watery, unexceptional Nescafe.
Syrians drink both shay and kahwa with plenty of sugar.
Another type of coffee kahwa murrah is usually
only seen when visiting private homes of older or more traditional
Arabs. This is an extremely strong, hot coffee - that usually
sits brewing all day in the living room on a small stove.
It's served in a traditional brass or silver Arabic coffee
pot - you can find these actual pots in the souks everywhere.
When guests arrive at a home, tiny ceramic "shot glasses"
come out, and a mouthful of this coffee is served to each
guest. The guest accepts the coffee, whips it down like a
shot and requests another if they're feeling bold by shaking
the glass slightly when handing it back to the host. This
type of coffee is not drunk slowly and savoured, but just
as a sort of quick "hello and welcome" shot of energy
when entering a home. It's also used at celebrations. At weddings,
the bride and groom share their first swallow of coffee from
the same cup, then smash the cups against the wall - bad luck
for anyone else to drink from their cups.
Other Hot Beverages
Mate, originally an Argentinian drink, is popular
in Syria, especially with Druze famillies. Most any social
gathering will see people drinking Mate out of tiny cups with
a distinctive "spoon-straw" utensil for sipping.
One person mans the Mate items - a few spoonfuls of the dry,
grassy leaves are put in a tiny cup, boiling water is poured
over and a liberal amount of sugar. Only one person drinks
the Mate at a time, passing the glass back when finished,
and requesting another, or not. After that person is done,
more boiling water is added, and sugar if necessary, and the
cup is passed to the next person.
The birth of a baby, or other happy occasion will bring out
the muggeli - a spicy, traditional tea with the taste
of allspice and cinnamon, sometimes made with walnuts floating
on top. Another hot drink is kammun, usually drunk in the
winter containing cumin, salt and water.
Alcoholic Drinks
For the brave at heart, there is the Arab national drink
- Arak. It's much like the Turkish Raki or Greek
Ouzo - with an anisette taste, and it packs a punch. It's
not drunk right out of the bottle, but a small amount is poured
into a tiny glass, water is then added and then ice - never
add the ice before the water. The clear liquid turns white
and cloudy, and - yallah! It's time to toast your host!
You can also find beer, bira, or mixed drinks
(though these are somewhat rare) in most restaurants. Arabs
are not big consumers of alcoholic beverages, and usually
will only drink wine or beer when dining. There are not many
bars as Americans would recognise them in the Arab world.
The exception to this is Lebanon, which has a flourishing
Western-style nightlife scene, where beautiful, stylishly
clad Lebanese drink and dance the night away, seeing and being
seen! The Lebanese love to stay out all night and have fun!
Muslims do not drink alcohol at all, but sometimes will have
some in their homes to offer to guests. In Lebanon, you'll
find more establishments dedicated to drinking and socialising,
but in Syria, most socialising is done in private homes, restaurants
or tea and coffee houses.
Nargilas Pipes
Along with tea in the tea houses are nargilas
- water pipes. These are smoked throughout the Arab world.
In Egypt, they're called shisha, in Syria, nargilah.
In Lebanon, Jordan and beyond, you'll most likely use shisha
or nargilah. The US variety is usually referred to as a hookah,
in London, a "hubble bubble". These pipes
are not like smoking cigarettes or cigars (but it should be
noted, carry the same health risks), and there are a number
of cultural quirks that go along with the smoking.
If you smoke cigarettes, NEVER, under any circumstances light
your cigarette on the burning coal on top - this is considered
very rude. If you are smoking nargila with friends and would
like the pipe to be passed to you, tap the hand of the smoker,
and it will soon be passed to you. When passing the hose,
do not point the metal tip at the receiver - again, considered
quite rude. To be polite, you should fold the pipe over the
hose and point the "curl" of the hose towards your
neighbour when handing off the smoking end.
The tobacco inside comes in a variety of flavours - most popular
is strawberry, apricot and "double apple", but there
are also exotic varieties - watermelon, cappuccino, grape
or chocolate to name a few. The tobacco is drenched in a sweet,
flavoured syrup - aluminium foil with holes covers the tobacco
and a piece of burning wood coal, nara, goes on top. You can
simply "taste" the smoke in your mouth, or inhale
and fill you lungs - either way, nargilas are a traditionally
Middle Eastern pastime.
Arabs love to socialise - sit and chat in teahouses and while
away the hours. For tourists, this makes for pleasant breaks
from travelling while you get to know the natives - which
is always enriching!
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