Hommos in Palestine

Nearly every day when I return home from work, my darling wife asks me what I ate for lunch.  The topics of food and bowel movements seem to dominate our discussions--probably the result of some residual caveman DNA that forced early humanoids to focus on the fundamentals of existence.  But that's a topic for another blog.  So my darling asks what I had for lunch.  At my place of work, we have a nice tradition of eating lunch as a group.  Our office assistant, Mohammad, either prepares a meal or picks up food from a local restaurant.  We eat family style and discuss worldly issues--like the latest act to get kicked off "Arabs Got Talent" or which restaurant in Bethlehem serves the best falafel.

The conversations are more often in Arabic than English but as my language skills improve, I'm able to pick up more and more pieces of the conversation.  And I must sound like a real genius as I burst out with eureka moments: "You're talking about chicken!"  "You just said something about your car!"  "Are you talking about a university or a mosque?"  Every once in a while, someone explains to me in English a particularly important nugget of information, such as: "We're talking about whether Simpsons or Family Guy is a better cartoon.  I personally like Tom & Jerry..."  (Tom & Jerry is a frequent filler of downtime between shows on one of the popular channels here.)

As we catch up these and other critical issues, we eat kabob and pizza and sandwiches and vegetables and sometimes even Chinese stir fry.  And nearly every day, we also have some kind of hummus to accompany pita bread.  My coworkers (along with most other Palestinians, I assume) have different names for the different types of hummus.  To me, it's all hummus--ground chick peas with olive oil, tahini, and usually lemon.  But sometimes the hummus is spicy or has meat or pine nuts or bread crumbs or something else.  I foolishly call it all hummus--my coworkers correct me, but their corrections fall on flat ears and I return to eating what I think of as hummus.  I suppose they might feel the same way if I took them to a Milwaukee Brewer baseball game and cheered violently during the between-inning race between the hot dog, Vienna sausage, and bratwurst.  They might be under the impression that three hot dogs racing, while it's clear to me that three very distinct food products are engaged in competitive sport.

So back to the daily inquiry by my darling regarding my noon meal.  Nearly every day, I tell her that I ate hummus at lunch.  If I were Palestinian, I would probably report a much wider variety of lunch options...but to me it's all hummus.  And the hummus here is pretty darn good, no matter what it's called.  If I can take liberty with Mr. Shakespeare's work: "What's in a name?  That which we call hummus by any other name would taste as good."  According to Wikipedia:

"The word comes from Arabic: حمّص ‎ḥimmaṣ 'chickpeas'. Like some other Arabic loanwords and names, Romanized spellings of the word in English can be inconsistent. Among the common spellings for this word as transliterated into English are hummus, houmous, hommos and hoummos. The spelling humus is generally avoided in English as it is a homonym of humus (organic matter in soil), though this is the usual Turkish spelling.  The Arabic name of the prepared spread is حمّص بطحينة (ḥimmaṣ bi ṭaḥīna) which means chickpeas with tahini."


There's another alternative spelling that should probably be avoided - although sometimes it's good to keep us all on our toes.  As did someone I know who recently copied me on an email informing me and others that he recently spent the day in meetings with an important dignitary before touring historic sites and then enjoying "homos" and falafel in the Nativity Square.  Talk about indulgence!  (Or unfortunate transliteration...)

Exclusive! Interview with Wanda

My mother-in-law recently completed a 2 1/2 week visit to Palestine.  Near the end of her trip, I asked her 10 questions about her travels, her recommendations for other travelers to Palestine, and what she learned during her time here.  After conducting the interview, we spent a day in Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee--a few photos from that tour are included after the interview.

Q: Tell us about your time in Palestine:

Oh—my…I’ve done some great things.  The most exciting part was locating my daughter at the airport and seeing her healthy and well (and seeing Mark healthy and well).  Otherwise, we’ve walked around Ramallah; I’ve gotten plenty of exercise.  I went out with them to play street hockey and even picked up a stick to hit a few balls with my daughter.  

Outside of Ramallah, we've gone to Jerusalem, Jericho and the Dead Sea, and Bethlehem.  In each of the cities we’ve toured the various sites.  In Bethlehem, for example, we went to Solomon’s Pools and Shepherd’s fields—which was very nice.  All of the trips have been awesome.

Via Dolorosa in Old Jerusalem

Sycamore Tree of Biblical significance in Jericho

Bethlehem (near the Church of the Nativity)

Birthplace of Jesus (Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem)

We’ve gone through check-points.

Qalandia checkpoint seen through the window of a minibus

The first weekend we went to visit a friend of my daughter’s who is the director of the Ramallah Museum.  He gave us a walking tour of Beit Reema and he showed us his new home that is under construction.  We had a wonderful dinner with his family and even helped his family celebrate his daughter’s ninth birthday.

Beit Reema

Last night, we heard a very unique and creative band that made music with all types of appliances and children’s learning devices. 

And I learned a new card game—two-handed euchre.

Q: What surprised you most about Palestine?

One thing was a wonderful welcoming surprise—the appearance of safety.  I call it an "appearance of safety" because it is an outward appearance…things seem to be safer than what I had imagined.  However, these guys are all walking around with weapons for a reason.  And things have happened in the news since I’ve been here.  I’ve heard sounds like gunfire at different times, but nobody else pays attention to it.

I was also surprised by how truly cosmopolitan Ramallah is.

Q: Have you felt safe traveling around Palestine?

Yes, I have. 

Q: Did you eat any new foods while in Palestine?

Oh yes.  I’ve eaten something called “ful.”  I’ve eaten something called “shwarma.”  And a few other new dishes.  At the birthday party in Beit Reema, we had special cake that the mother made, and we also ate some ‘sugared water balls’ while there, too.

Enjoying falafel in Old Jerusalem

Homemade birthday cake called "Lebanon nights"

One thing that I enjoyed the most were the grape leaves.

Q: What would you recommend a visitor do in Palestine?

First of all, I recommend that if a visitor has an interest to see the Biblical historical sites, the visitor should fully grasp the meaning of the area or what they’re looking at—they should do some research to understand the biblical history. 

Also, visitors should enjoy the people…enjoy the scenery.  Come with a nice camera.  Bring something with video to capture the sights.  What’s most exhilarating are the beautiful panoramic views.

Go to the Dead Sea—that’s what I enjoyed to most…especially the view.  I could see Jordan.

The Dead Sea (with Jordan in the background)

Learn a little Arabic—at least the general greetings, thank you, how much, pleasure to meet you… 

Q: What would you advise against?

I advise against being fearful and close minded.

Q: What about your trip will you still talk about one year from now?

My daughter and Mark and their beautiful home and being such gracious hosts.  And the egg breakfast that my daughter cooked.

Q: What are some things you’ve learned while in Palestine?

The one thing I’ve learned is how Americans have a lot of opportunities and freedom which unfortunately is not afforded to everybody in the world.  And sadly most Americans do not make the most of it.

I also learned that there is an abundance of multiple histories in this region.  I was aware of it to a certain extent, but I saw the strong influence of it with the Biblical (Christian) history, the Muslim, and the Jewish sites.  I also saw the strong investment and support that other countries have put in to preserve some of these sites.

Q: Are you taking back any souvenirs?

Yes.  A few simple mother-of-pearl items—some of the areas are known for mother-of-pearl.  A few simple handcrafted items made of olive wood—mostly bells because I like and collect bells.  Some Arabic coffee that has to be prepared in a special way (2-3 teaspoons boiled in a small pot for about 5 minutes) for a friend; and some spices—one special type of spice called Za’atar, which is a blend with thyme, coriander, sumac, and sesame seeds.  And some scarves.

Q: Anything you wish you had done that you don’t have time for?

I had read that this area was known for the baths and spas…so I wish I had found a good one and taken a day to relax at one of those.  Perhaps a Turkish bath.  It was not a high priority, but it was something I wanted to do and will do on another trip.  I would also like to see Tel Aviv.


Additional photos from Wanda's trip:

Sea of Galilee

A mini-bus - called a service - which is used for public transportation in Palestine

Water and wine in Cana

Town on the Sea of Galilee where Jesus preached

McDonalds in Tiberius

Wanda at the Jordan River

Images of Palestine

This week I'll go light on the narrative and heavy on the images.  But first, I have a simple request for my readers.  Next Friday's blog will consist of an interview with my mother-in-law, who will be wrapping up a 2 1/2 week visit to Palestine, and I want to ask her the questions that are on your mind.  Send me a question to ask her so you can learn about Palestine through the eyes of a first-time visitor.  Questions about the food,  people, sites, security, transportation, etc. are welcome.  Submit your questions through the comments feature--for those of you who were unable to leave comments last week, I changed my settings to allow anybody to leave a comment.  I'll interview her next Friday for next week's post.

Now, onto scenes from Palestine:

Ramallah at sunset.  The Mediterranean lies 50 miles west of Ramallah, so each evening the sun splashes into the sea.

A lone figure high above the valley near Aboud rests during hike.

Jerusalem on Casual Friday.  The Western Wall and Dome of the Rock can be seen in the distance.

Peace in the Middle East!  This image adorned the inside of a mini-bus.

On the other hand...  Apparently Saddam Hussein is admired because he supported Palestine.  When I recently asked a Palestinian whether Saddam really did anything to help Palestinians, he said, yes because he went to war with Israel.  This imagine is in the roundabout in a small town called Beit Reema.

Bananas are tasty in all languages.  In Arabic, these are called "moz."

Your local food co-op was not the first store to sell nuts and seeds in bulk.  Stores here sell pasta, spices, legumes, coffee, dried fruits, oats, grain, and flour by the kilo.

Springtime in Palestine means fresh fruit, ripened and unripened.  Palestinians tend to eat fruit at an unripened stage.  Almonds, apricots, cherries, crabapples, garbanzo beans, peaches, and even wheat (freekeh) are harvested and eaten before fully ripe.  Some turn out to be surprisingly good--others fall flat (in our opinion).

And finally, here's is a video from a lively traditional Palestinian dance performance we saw a few weeks ago as part of the Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival:

I hope you've enjoyed this short tour of Palestine.  Next week I will post an interview with my mother-in-law using your questions, so tell me what you'd like to know.