Anissa's Blog

Great news. Absolute Press are bringing out an expanded edition of my Fifth Quarter next year. To celebrate this, I thought I’d post a couple of videos I did recently of one of my food obsessions: lamb testicles. The last place I expected to see them was in the kitchens of Pistache d’Alep (the best baklava maker in Aleppo) where they…

Just back from a wonderful trip to Iran where I had been in April, also once many years ago during the time of the Shah when I worked for Sotheby’s who then had an office there. While walking through the Tajrish bazaar last April, I was struck by the abundance of seasonal produce, some of…

Every year I wish for a white Christmas and this year it looks like I will be getting my wish, except that I am not where it is snowing and I may not make it back in time if the airport remains closed. So, to cheer myself up, I’ve gone to my you tube stash…

There are many places I return to whenever I visit Aleppo. I go at least once to have ful medammes at Hajj Abdo. I stay at Yasmeen d’Alep, and if I am not, I make a point of going there to sit in their peaceful courtyard and have a chat with the lovely owners Badeeh & Hannadi…

I drove into Damascus on the second day of Eid el Adha (the feast of the sacrifice and the big Muslim holiday marking the beginning of their new year). The streets were empty. Hardly any cars, most of the shops closed, and no street vendors except for the occasional one squatting on the roadside by a stack…