I’ve started to research in earnest for the paper I’m going to present at the Oxford Symposium this summer. The subject of the symposium is markets, and I will talk about the market in Nazareth as a site of pilgrimage, not just for Christians visiting the site(s) where the Annunciation is believed to have taken … Read More »
farike
Green Anew
How does one mark the arrival of spring when the entire winter is full of flowers? With more flowers for one thing, and the late-night fragrance of citrus blossoms teasing into my bedroom window. But there are other reminders that, over the thousands of years when survival for the people living in the Galilee was … Read More »
A Time to Fast, a Time to Feast
The month of Ramadan, that started this year on August 1st, has passed the halfway mark. For observant Muslims, this means less than two more weeks of the daily fast – that extends from the pre-sunrise meal through dinner at sundown. Lately, I’ve been waking up at 4 AM with the sound of the Muezzin’s … Read More »
A New Article in Gastronomica
Over a year has passed since Ron, Balkees and I helped harvest green wheat to make farike. After that amazing experience, I wrote an article which was accepted for publication in Gastronomica magazine – that very fine journal of food and culture that is put out by UC Press. The article was accepted in the … Read More »
Farike Season
The season for producing farike has officially opened here in the lower Galilee. If you see puffs of smoke in the middle of agricultural fields, like we saw yesterday, it’s a pretty sure sign that someone is making farike. For those of you who haven’t heard me go on (and on, and on) about this … Read More »