Traveler Tip
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Bring plastic bags
For nights in the Sahara tented camp, store everything inside plastic bags. Otherwise, it will be covered in fine sand, even if there is no sandstorm. You can put small items inside a backpack and a large garbage bag around the pack.
— Stephanie Sweda, 4-time traveler, New York, NY
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Browse with your eyes, buy with your hands
In the souks, if you touch an object, the merchant will interpret this as an invitation to barter. They can be very persistent, and may even walk alongside you to beyond their shop to continue extolling the object’ s features and benefits.
What to Eat
Moroccan cuisine blends North African, Arabic, and southern European culinary traditions to create complex as well as delicate treats. Its iconic tagines are meat, poultry, seafood, and vegetable stews that take their name from the clay pots in which they are cooked. Try chicken and lemon tagine simmered with herbs, dried fruit, and olive oil. Another must is bstilla, a Fez specialty based on phyllo pastry layered with pigeon or chicken, almonds, saffron, cinnamon and confectioners’ sugar.
Turkish cuisine is often ranked as one of the world’ s top three( alongside French and Chinese). Get a good sampling when you order mezes, a platter of appetizers that may include yaprak sarma( grape leaves filled with rice, onion, mint, currants, peppers and cinnamon), sardalya( grilled sardines), deep-fried olives, and borek( phyllo pastry filled with cheese, minced meat, potato, or spinach). For sweets you must try dondurma, a frozen dessert— like ice cream that you eat with a knife and fork.
Falafel( a fried chickpea fritter) is a popular Middle Eastern dish, originating in Egypt, but has expanded far beyond its roots. Traditionally, it’ s made with fava beans, but the use of chickpeas( or a combination of both!) is just as common now. Whether it’ s topped with fresh herbs or sesame seeds, this vegetarian street food is a classic.
Try Egyptian ful, which is similar to hummus but made with fava beans. Koshari is a platter layered with long grain brown rice, lentils and macaroni topped with fried onions and a spicy tomato sauce. For a typical Egyptian dessert, try mahalabiya, a rosewater-flavored ground rice dish topped with toasted nuts and cinnamon.
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