Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
foods are more about sharing time with friends than eating and men in particular may
spend all night on the same plastic chair, puffing on
sheesha
tobacco and sipping tea.
Peninsula people are not big on 'puddings', preferring fruits after (or often before) the
meal, and thick fruit juices. On high days and holidays, however, baklava (made of filo
and honey) or puddings - including
mahallabiye
(milk based) and
umm ali
(bread based)
- might put in an appearance after lunch or supper.
If as a traveller you try to opt out of the fifth spoonful of sugar in your tea or coffee, you will inevitably be
assumed to have diabetes.
Drinks
Nonalcoholic Drinks
If you want to try camel's milk without the stomach ache, you can often find it in super-
markets - next to the
labneh
, a refreshing drink of yoghurt, water, salt and sometimes
crushed mint.
One of the best culinary experiences of travelling in the region is sampling the fresh
fruit juices of pomegranate, hibiscus, avocado, sugar cane, mango, melon or carrot - or a
combination of all sorts - served at juice stalls known as
aseer
. Mint and lemon or fresh
lime is a refreshing alternative to soda.
Tea, known as
shai
or
chi libton
, could be tea
min na'ana
(with mint, especially in
Saudi and Yemen), tea with condensed milk (in the Gulf) or black tea (in Oman), but
whatever the flavour, it will contain enough sugar to make a dentist's fortune. The teabag
is left in the cup and water is poured from maximum height as proof of your host's tea-
making skills.
Coffee, known locally as
qahwa,
is consumed in copious quantities on the Peninsula
and is usually strong. Arabia has a distinguished connection with coffee. Though no
longer involved in the coffee trade, Al-Makha in Yemen gave its name to the blend of
chocolate and coffee popularly known as 'mocha'. The traditional Arabic or Bedouin cof-
fee is heavily laced with cardamom and drunk in small cups. Turkish coffee, which floats
on top of thick sediment, is popular in the Gulf region.
Nonalcoholic beer is widely available. Incidentally, travellers shouldn't think that cans
of fizzy drink will suffice for hydration in the desert: they often induce more thirst than
they satisfy.
