Damascene Foodways

المطبخ الدمشقي

City

Damascus and its GHOUTA — the irrigated oasis on the Barada that fed the city for millennia and whose orchards are part of the dish. An urban, bourgeois, Ottoman-era-elaborated kitchen: MEZZE at length; MAHSHI, the stuffed vegetable in every form; YALANJI, vine leaves stuffed meatless with rice, olive oil and pomegranate; SHISH BARAK, meat dumplings in hot yogurt; FATTEH, layered bread, chickpeas, yogurt and tahini; KIBBEH in many forms; MAQLUBA; FREEKEH and rice; sour cherry kebab (KEBAB KARAZ) with the Damascene morello; the pickles and the ROSE and apricot preserves; and the sweets of the old city. ⚠ WHAT MAKES IT DAMASCENE IS NOT AN INGREDIENT LIST BUT A REGISTER: more yogurt and less pepper than Aleppo, more olive oil and garlic, and a documented court-and-merchant tradition of elaborate preparation. And ⚠ NOT EVERY LEVANTINE DISH IS DAMASCENE just because it is cooked in Damascus.