Spices, Smoke, & Bazaars
Where ancient trade routes collide to create the most aromatic alleyways on Earth.
Carmel Market (Tel Aviv, Israel)
Shuk HaCarmel is a loud, aggressive, and deeply flavorful stretch. Vendors yell over one another, selling mountains of sumac and za'atar. The street food is a rapid-fire assembly of falafel stuffed into fresh pita, dripping with tahini and amba (pickled mango sauce), alongside violently hot trays of shakshuka.
Grand Bazaar (Istanbul, Turkey)
Beyond the carpets and gold lies a sprawling network of food vendors catering to the merchants. You'll find Döner kebabs slicing perfectly crisped lamb, and carts selling simit—circular bread crusted in sesame seeds, best eaten while dodging hand-pushed carts navigating the tight cobblestone.
Simit
Molasses-dipped, sesame-crusted rings of dough.
Cağ Kebabı
Horizontally stacked marinated lamb cooked over wood fire.
Souk El Tayeb (Beirut, Lebanon)
An open-air farmers market that acts as a defiant celebration of Lebanese unity through food. Women from villages across the country travel here to bake manousheh (flatbread) on massive curved saj griddles, slathering them in thick, fragrant thyme and olive oil mixes. It is deeply rustic and intensely personal.