- Hey, everyone, I hope
you're having an amazing day.
It's Mark Wiens, I'm in
the ancient city of Tripoli
in Northern Lebanon on the
coast, on the Mediterranean Sea.
Today, we are gonna go on a
food tour of ancient Tripoli.
We're gonna eat some of the unique food,
some of the unique snacks and desserts.
And I'm waiting to find out
all the dishes that we're gonna eat.
How are you?
- How are you, good, good, how are you?
- Very good, very good.
- Travel for food.
- And by the way, the
people here are just,
they're so hospitable.
They make Tripoli what it is.
So in this video, I'm
gonna take you with me
on this food tour of the ancient
city of Tripoli, Lebanon.
(upbeat music)
(people speaking in foreign language)
- [Mark] Oh, that's sumac.
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Mark] Double C.
Okay, which is the, it's
a bread local to Tripoli.
- Tripoli, yeah, with cheese.
- Almost looks like bagel-ly
with all the sesame seeds on top.
But it's like, kind of a, like a flat,
Looks like kind of a hard bread.
He cuts it open, he adds
the white cheese, right?
- White cheese and sumac
and sometimes pichon.
- Oh and sumac, yeah, he
sprinkles on some sumac,
which is that purple floury spice.
And then he puts it on the grill to roast,
to toast with that cheese,
that looks really good.
- And here, you're gonna taste
the best kaake traboulsi in town.
- Yes, cool, I can't wait.
(speaking in foreign language)
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Ahmad] Kaake with sumac,
white cheese and sumac.
- [Mark] I just wanna
take a look on the inside.
- [Ahmad] Yeah, let me help you.
- [Mark] Oh, yeah, oh, that's awesome.
Oh, that's beautiful.
Oh, the smell, it smells so good with the
two types of cheese and
all of that purple sumac.
Mmmm, yeah, oh, that's delicious.
I love that thick, it's like an entire
layer of sesame seeds on top.
The fire, smoky, roasted
flavor, the salty cheese.
What type of flavor does sumac have?
It's like very subtle.
- [Ahmad] It's citrusy
- But it's very subtle, a little citrusy.
- [Ahmad] It's a bit of
acidity that you need.
- Like the best toast ever.
I think what I love about
is he's so generous with the sumac,
giving it that color, that slight acidity.
Amazing, man.
- [Ahmad] This is the
creamy cheese, pichon.
- Do you eat it every day?
- Yeah, almost, not every day but almost.
- [Ahmad] This is the awarma
that we got from ward.
- In the van, we've been traveling
with a bottle of awarma,
which is the salted,
preserved lamb mixture minced meat.
And we thought it would
be a brilliant idea
to bust some of that,
bring some of it out,
stick it within the bread
loaf with the cheese
and grill it over that fire.
- [Man 1] And Mark he's
asking you if you want some
spice or some chili on it?
Of course we do.
- Oh, yeah, sure.
(speaking in foreign language)
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Ahmad] This is also a
local, traditional chili.
- Oh, the awarma with chili
with cheese inside of that kaake.
- Kaake traboulsi.
- Oh ho ho.
Oh, wow.
Oh, it's so good, oh, man.
Awarma can just, has the power
to make everything better.
Yes.
- [Man 1] Come on, guys,
you gotta have this.
- [Female Bystander] You have a fan.
- [Ahmad] You have a fan.
- [Man 1] It's amazing.
- Hey, how are you, man?
- [Man 1] How are you?
- [Mark] An amazing first
stop and way to get this
Tripoli food tour started.
We're now driving over to the old souks,
to the old, ancient town of Tripoli.
It's an amazing feel to be
walking through Tripoli.
Like, it does remind me of,
kind of a calmer version of Cairo.
But do be careful of traffic.
And so much character in this city too.
The whole feel, the
vibe, the old Mercedes.
Oh, yeah, they're just like lined up,
the old Mercedes in the city, right?
That's so cool.
- [Ahmad] It's very specific to Lebanon.
- The Mercedes?
- [Ahmad] Most older taxis,
they're just classic Mercedes.
- Ah, okay, yeah, look at this classic,
look at that paint job.
- [Ahmad] If the license plate
is red, then it's a taxi.
- Very cool car, thank you.
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Mark] Stopping for
a quick cup of coffee
before we enter the old market.
Oh, this one does have a bit
of cardamom in it, right?
- [Ahmad] Yeah.
- You could smell the cardamom in it.
- [Ahmad] Yes?
- Oh, yes, very good, oh, that's amazing.
That's strong, very good.
(speaking in foreign language)
- I've said this every time I have it,
but I can drink this all day long.
You need like one of
these per half an hour
as you're walking around.
(speaking in foreign language)
- We were on the main road.
We just took a right into the alleys.
Now, we're gonna get
into the back streets,
into the back alleys,
this is a beautiful city.
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Mark] Step into this
little, small bakery
but packed with people,
it's so good in here.
(speaking in foreign language)
- This is Anca Wood.
- [Mark] Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
- [Mark] Very nice to meet you.
- This is Haisomi.
- [Mark] Okay.
- This is crazy.
- That's what I call paddle skills.
Man, he, like, four in a row.
He, like, slides the paddle underneath.
And then just, like, at the right angle,
rotates them all four
at a time on the paddle.
And then when they're
ready, pulls them out.
Oh, man, a bakery has
never smelled so good.
The meat, the baking meat.
- [Restaurant Employee]
Restaurant of happiness.
- [Mark] Restaurant of Happiness?
- Translates to restaurant of happiness.
So it makes everyone happy in here.
I need some help.
- Sfiha kofta.
- Sfiha kofta, so
that's, they're like the,
they're like two breads, one on top
they stuff with kofta,
like minced sausage.
Oh, this is awesome, wow.
Oh, vegetables.
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Mark] Yes, oh, thank you.
- [Ahmad] And one more thing.
- [Mark] Oh, wow.
I'm trying the classic
first which is their kofta.
The bread is so thin on either side.
Oh, wow, that looks sensational.
Oh, wow.
Oh, yeah.
(speaking in foreign language)
- Amaya, how is it?
- It's amazing.
- What I love is that the thin,
freshly baked bread, it's so thin.
You really taste the meat.
The meat just crumbles in your mouth.
Got the mint, I really
love it with that mint.
The chili sauce is not that spicy,
but it's very fragrant with that oil.
Man, that is extraordinary.
And freshly baked, like literally
seconds ago, it came out of the oven.
That was so good, it's running down my,
runny, the chili oil, oh, thank you.
And then follow that
with some of the aryan.
Aryan?
- Aryan.
- Aryan.
- Aryan, which is the yogurt.
- [Amaya] That's the yogurt.
- The yogurt drink.
Like salted, cooling yogurt.
(upbeat music)
This is another version with more spices,
with tomato and green pepper.
Oh, wow, this is like stunning.
And just this environment,
like busy, packed.
People just come in here
to slam a few of these.
And this one is unique to Tripoli.
- [Ahmad] It is a totally
different type of dough,
like layers of dough,
then topped with meat.
And the meat is also unique, filled with,
seasoned with tahini and
pomegranate molasses.
Mmmm.
- Yeah, the crunchiness, I was surprised.
- Oh, wow, yeah, like the layers of dough.
- Yes.
- They're so thin, the layers of dough.
But also the meat hits you because
it has this burst of sourness
from the pomegranate molasses.
And you can taste the creaminess
of the tahini as well.
Oh, wow, okay, a squeeze of
lemon would be good though.
Genius combinations, these
are the best types of
baked good, products, that's amazing.
I think I love it, like amazing.
(speaking in foreign language)
- Wow, what a combination.
- Is it happiness?
- Yes, yes, oh, yeah, and by the way,
- This is the name of the shop.
- What's the name in Arabic?
- Sa'ada.
- Sa'ada, which means gives you,
- Also the restaurant is
called Sa'ada, you know.
- Sa'ada.
- So happiness.
- This restaurant is called happiness.
And yes, that is they,
they're honest to their name.
We're stepping out of
this bakery of happiness.
It's more like a bakery of
overjoy, it's beyond happiness.
- And that's the owner.
- Oh.
- I saw him standing here.
- Oh, that's cool.
(speaking in foreign language)
- Nice to meet you, amazing bakery.
- Thank you, thank you.
(speaking in foreign language)
- I'm not sure where we're heading next,
but this is the type of city
where you can just wander,
you can get lost down the alleys.
There's so much to discover.
And it's like the type
of place that even people
that spend their entire lives here are,
especially people from around Lebanon,
when they come to visit, you just like
lose your orientation
back in these streets.
- [Ahmad] Khurub.
- [Mark] Khurub?
- Yeah, it's come from a tree, plant.
And they make it to become juice.
- Mmmm, oh, it kind of like has,
it's sweet, has a little
bit of a earthy tone to it.
Really refreshing, really cold.
How are you, man?
- Good.
- Yes.
- I always see you on YouTube.
- Thank you very much.
Amaya just looked it up and
it's a Ceratonia siliqua,
known commonly as carob,
which is from an evergreen tree, cool.
Juice was refreshing,
we're continuing on further
into the old souk, the
old market of Tripoli.
We've only been walking around
for maybe about 30 minutes,
and already, I couldn't even tell you
how to get back from where we started.
Like it just mazes around and now
we're really getting into
the old, ancient streets.
Look at this tunnel!
Oh, that's like passing
through to the other alley?
- Yup.
- That's amazing.
Ah, this is so cool.
- The old Tripoli is
built as a defensive way.
This is why you see it's low.
- Oh, a defensive way.
- Yeah.
- Ah, okay.
- So the houses and the,
when they come to Tripoli,
they cannot enter on the houses.
- They have like low roof,
low doors too, right?
And then I know, as I was reading,
Tripoli, this city dates
back to the 14th century BC.
But it even dates back, it's
been inhabited further back
for over at least 5000, 6000 years.
(speaking in foreign language)
- Oh, actually, this part
is where you should open it.
And then just go like this.
- Ah, it's like powdered.
- Yeah, this is powdered sugar, mahmoud.
A traditional, almost, it
kinda looks like a cookie.
Mmm, it's one with pistachio
in the center, right?
I immediately got a
powdered sugar mustache.
It's like a cross between
a cake and a cookie
with powdered sugar all over it
and stuffed with pistachios.
(speaking in foreign language)
(upbeat music)
- What are you eating?
Hello, good, how are you?
Nice to meet you.
I'm just blown away by these
just ancient, ancient lanes.
The architecture, the
just crumbling history.
We made it to the grand mosque.
It's the largest and the oldest
Mamluk Mosque in Tripoli.
Ahmad was just explaining to
me the different madrasats.
- Madrasat.
- The schools.
- Annex school.
- Annex schools, like
surrounding the mosque as well.
And we're about to just
go and take a look inside.
You enter into this courtyard.
What I love the most is
these arches, amazing arches.
We've just stepped
inside of the mosque now.
And again, the beauty of the arches,
the triangular arches, it's stunning.
This is the front here, it's
such a peaceful environment.
It's really like spectacular
architecture and history.
Those are the grape leaves?
- Warak enab.
- Ah, warak enab, grape leaves, right?
- This is, yeah, yeah.
- That's like the wild one that we,
okay.
So from here, we're
continuing in the souk.
But just the narrow, like
winding alleyways that you just,
Yeah, oh, man, there's
everything available.
And you get the whiffs, the meat breads,
the za'atar, the thyme,
the olives, the pickles.
These are pickles over here.
- Those are chilis.
- Oh, and chilis, you
could just smell everything
wafting down these
alleys as you just walk.
And then you see like
little vegetable stalls,
selling all sorts of fresh and wild and,
and local vegetables and herbs, all,
everything going into the
cooking, the bakeries.
- Hello.
- Hello, how are you?
There's just bakery after bakery.
Ah, this is the kaake, the other type.
- Yeah.
- Ah.
- English?
- English, yes.
- This is the (foreign language).
- Ah, okay.
Fish.
And now we're getting
into the meat section.
There's just everything here,
just within the narrow alleys.
This is fascinating, this is incredible.
Yes, I am loving it.
(speaking in foreign language)
- Now, that is a meat market.
Oh, right at my face, at my face.
Oh, this is lamb, right?
- Yeah.
- I can hear my face echoing
out of the lamb cavity.
That's a meat market for you.
- This is something I would like to have
on top of some fire right now.
Just put this whole thing
on top of some fire and give it to me.
- Any of this over a fire?
- The castle, we have to go up this way.
- Oh, okay, okay, should
we look at the castle?
- Yeah, it has the panoramic
view of all of Tripoli.
- Oh, okay, yeah, let's go, let's go.
Okay, whoa, chickens, ah, okay.
We're movin' up to the castle,
right, and the citadel?
Oh, Tripoli is famous
for its ancient castle.
And we're also gonna get a
view of the city from there.
(upbeat music)
Yeah, and this castle was first started,
was first started being
built during the crusades
when the crusades came through
this region in the 1100s.
But since then, other civilizations have
taken over the castle,
have built upon the castle,
and it's been like in
continuous construction
since built upon.
Stepping now into the gates of the castle
and those are some sarcophagi,
some stone coffins at the entrance.
And now, getting into the real castle.
(upbeat music)
The stones, the arches, again, the arches.
I'll just sit down here, but
while I sit in this window,
that breeze coming through here,
the view over Tripoli, what a
view from up here, 360-degree.
Not only, you can also see
the entire top of the castle
but the entire city, it just surrounds,
I mean that's what the castle is for,
the lookout, the center of the city.
The views are spectacular, and also,
Tripoli is the second-largest
city in Lebanon after Beirut.
(upbeat music)
We just emerged out of an
alley onto a small shop,
and he specializes in sandwich made from
their chickpeas as well as couscous
but like a giant couscous.
I've never seen anything like that.
Couscous is made from semolina.
I took a portion of it,
you can smell the onions.
You can smell kind of a spice
like cinnamon a little bit.
He's adding some oil, he's
adding in some more onions.
Oh, man.
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Mark] Ah, wow, it smells so good.
And he's actually gonna
make it into a sandwich.
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Ahmad] Cucumber pickle and turnip.
- [Man 1] Pickles.
- Such a cool shop, the
ancient history in this place.
The man making it is amazing.
And this is completely unique to Tripoli.
And another thing I
just saw as I sat down,
which we will use later after a few bites,
this is amazing, okay, I'll show you that
after taking a few bites.
So hot and fresh, you
could feel the warmth
of the bread, of the
chickpeas, and the couscous.
And then he filled it up with pickles.
Cucumber pickles, I think
it has some radish pickles
and also the, the chilis.
Mmm.
Oh, wow.
Very good.
The pickles are, first of all,
amazing, excellent pickles.
Then you've got the, more
of the starchy chickpeas
with more of the, actually,
let me just taste that,
that ball of semolina,
the ball of couscous.
Yeah, they're kind of
like little dough balls.
Um, but you have more of
a gummy texture to them.
It feels really hearty,
filling, simple, vegetarian.
Oh, it does Moroccan.
- Moghrabieh means from Maghreb.
Maghreb is Morocco in Arabic.
So Moghrabieh is the food
imported from Morocco.
I'm not sure if historically
it was the case,
but it looks like the couscous.
- Named it from a long, long time ago.
- Yeah.
- Yeah, probably names usually
come like that, you know.
It's just that, we're gonna go
eat a sandwich from Morocco.
Mughrabi, and it just
became known as that.
(speaking in foreign language)
- As we were talking like you need to
pair it with the pickles,
that's what makes it,
It needs that acidity,
it needs that like punch.
You see if I can do this
without spilling it all over me.
That's perfect, I mean communal,
being able to drink communally
while keeping it clean and
individual, this is superb.
(upbeat music)
(speaking in foreign language)
- Talk about an ancient,
ancient market dessert, sweet.
So what he's gonna make
for us next, what he did,
this whole pan is like a hot plate.
What he did is he poured some of that,
it's an orange blossom water.
And he sliced a bunch of cheese onto the,
into that water on the hot plate
and then added in some semolina.
Now that cheese is just
starting to melt and bubble
with that orange blossom.
It smells so good, like cheese
with an orange fragrance.
(speaking in foreign language)
- Wow.
- Ohh.
- Whoa.
(speaking in foreign language)
- Are you ready for it, guys?
There we go.
(upbeat music)
(speaking in foreign language)
- Oh, oh ho ho, oh ho ho.
(speaking in foreign language)
- Yeah, just half.
It is a relative of the kaake?
Possibly the most unique dessert
I have ever seen being made.
He made a cheese waterfall for us,
just stretching it into a
dough of like pure melt,
a pure melted cheese dough.
He rolls it again in powdered sugar
and then stuffs it into a
bread, the sesame loaf bread.
Oh wow.
That is sweet and sugary
from that powdered sugar.
But you got like the stretchy
aspect of the cheese.
Plus the slight like, contrast
of saltiness from the cheese.
You can eat it either way,
either in the bread or on its own.
But even the owner taught us a technique
where you put the spoon into it
and then use the fork to grab a bite
because it's so sticky, it's so stretchy.
Wow, yeah, you taste them,
I guess, when it's plain like that,
you taste more of the
milkiness of the cheese.
Plus that kind of crunch of the semolina.
And then there's like sweetness.
Do you like it, Amaya?
- Yummy.
(speaking in foreign language)
- Fountain, they put the
lemonade in this fountain.
Then clean it then put lemonade.
So all the people that pass, they,
- [Mark] They can drink lemonade?
- Yup.
- [Amaya] Drink from it.
- Wow, we just came to this
public square within the souk.
And something very interesting about this,
during the birthday, the birth
date of the prophet Muhammad,
it started an ancient tradition
where they fill this
entire basin with lemonade.
And people, the entire
city just comes here to
drink lemonade from here, and
they still do it to this day.
So we're going to see
this ancient soap factory
where a man makes soap,
just to check it out for a little bit.
Cool place though.
- Hello.
- Hello.
- What's so amazing to me is
how ancient the building is.
And this ancient technique is making
the soap all by hand using olive oil.
- So up here, you can
see the olive, the oil.
- Aha, cool.
- And this is Ahmad Sharkass who made the,
- He's the one.
(speaking in foreign language)
- Seven generations of soap
making since 1803 in this place.
(speaking in foreign language)
- By far, the coolest
workshop I've ever seen.
And the owner just said that
this entire order of grape,
grapes soap, he is making it
to send, to ship to France.
So somebody ordered it.
That is amazing, look at that.
The entire floor is like soap.
Unmarked, unsigned alley.
And this is where the
ancient Ottoman Hamam,
a bath is located in it, and
it's still functioning today.
Very cool.
Come into this hamam, it is
gorgeous, the central area.
- Let's take a break here,
take a coffee or tea.
- Sure, sure.
- So please tell me what you want, tea or,
- Yeah, I would have coffee.
- Coffee.
- Sure, sure, that'll
be amazing, thank you.
What a beautiful construction.
What a beautiful, what's so cool is that
it's still functioning, it's
still in use, this is gorgeous.
Wow, wow.
They wrap up the towel
and then they throw it,
Whoa.
(speaking in foreign language)
- Oh, man, this is, this is ultimate.
And we're gonna sit here,
we're gonna have a coffee.
What a, what a, yeah, just a masterpiece
of construction and
architecture and history.
We're having a Turkish
coffee inside of the
Turkish bath in Tripoli, Lebanon.
What a scenario, what a setting.
Oh, and this coffee was necessary.
Beautiful, stunning place
to sit and have a coffee.
- Do you know what this is used for?
It's very,
- Hot?
- No, no, no, it's very tough and rough.
It's used to scrub the heels.
- Ah, okay.
- To make them softer and smoother.
- Since no one's in here right now,
the owner just said that we can
come in here to take a photo.
But this is the hot room,
you can feel that steam.
But this is the actual,
like, centerpiece that's,
Oh, yeah, that is warm, that's hot.
This is where you get scrubbed down.
That was a fantastic coffee break.
From here, we jump back into the van,
and we are driving towards
El Mina, which is the,
it's the port of Tripoli.
So we're going towards the water's edge.
On the way to the port,
we're stopping by a place to
have some falafel that Ahmad said is
one of the most well-known,
one of the best falafels of the city.
Those are some turbo
falafel-making skills.
Just like, that is machine, like,
perfect intervals, filling
that little cup into the oil.
Like in a minute, the entire trough of oil
is totally full of falafels bubbling away.
And load up lettuce, tomatoes,
two types of pickles.
The cucumber pickles, and
I think it's a radish or a,
- Turnip.
- Turnip, oh, turnip pickle.
Load that all up into the
bread with some chili sauce
and then the falafel's go on.
(speaking in foreign language)
- He is just on turbo mode,
both making the falafel
and making the sandwiches.
Mmmm, oh, wow, the hot freshness of that
with the chili sauce and the pickles.
Like the falafel is almost like,
more like creamy rather than fluffy.
(upbeat music)
- Half, half.
(speaking in foreign language)
- Kalasina chicken.
All over Tripoli, I've been
seeing the grilled chicken
and the rotisserie chicken as well.
Is it very common in Tripoli?
- Yeah.
- Very common, right,
people like to eat it?
- Kalasina.
- Kalasina, and we're at,
- Farrouj.
- Farrouj.
- Farrouj Kalasina, the
farrouj is the chicken itself.
- Ah, okay, I get it.
So we decided to have, they
have two different versions.
One is the grilled, one is the rotisserie.
So we're getting half and half of each.
You can really smell the garlic.
They brush it in garlic
as it goes on the grill.
- What's up?
- I told you there's a saying that
a friend of mine a long time ago said.
"Without garlic, chicken is no good."
We can't eat chicken.
- No chicken without garlic.
(speaking in foreign language)
So it's,
- Is that a legend, a proverb?
- Well, it should be.
If it's not, it should be.
(speaking in foreign language)
- That smells incredible.
Immediately, this room is just
filled with the smoky aroma.
Ah, you never eat chicken without garlic.
And the garlic is a spread,
it's like a paste of garlic
emulsified with vegetable oil.
And then Ahmad just showed us the,
the Tripoli was is to put,
pour on some more olive oil
into the middle of that garlic.
Wow, wow, looks juicy.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
(speaking in foreign language)
- I'll begin with the rotisserie chicken.
I grab a piece, yeah, have a bite,
and then dip it into the
oil, olive oil with garlic.
- Wow.
- Wow.
It's the garlic, I mean.
- They're good.
- Yeah, garlic, it's a pool of olive oil.
The most creamy, garlicky goodness.
And taste that with a pickle.
- When you go out, you don't
feel you're Mark anymore.
You'll feel you're a piece of
garlic walking in the city.
- Oh, that's tasty, yes.
- So Mark, I'm gonna, I
wanna share this with you
because I think it's one of the best.
- Chicken wing?
- Yes, half a chicken wing.
I know you like it full,
but I'm having half.
- You're having half.
And the bone.
That's great, because
it's so smoky, so crispy.
It's all about that garlic.
(speaking in foreign language)
- Next up is the version,
the grilled chicken version.
Mmmm.
The rotisserie chicken is softer.
But the, I like the
grilled chicken better.
More texture, more
smokiness and char to it.
Again, kind of a impromptu chicken stop.
That grilled chicken, yeah,
the grilled chicken was
the real flavor of the chicken
way better than the rotisserie chicken.
And that's some of the best
garlic sauce we had for sure.
- And what he showed us is
something I just learned
for the very first time,
the olive oil move.
- You should try it.
- Lemonade ice cream?
- Yup.
- Oh, lemonade.
- Yup, it's ice around and the juice.
- Cool.
- Oh, and some of the ice as well.
That is genius.
That's kind of ice cream with juice.
This is an amazing thing.
Unlike any other lemonade I've ever had.
That's like, unlike, that's like,
Ying, you gotta see this.
(speaking in foreign language)
- Oh, look.
You have colorful ice cream.
- How is it, Ying?
- That's very good, wow.
- Oh, yeah, it's already
dripping all over the place.
You can kinda eat it with a spoon
as well as drink it from a straw.
- Good?
- Very good, oh, yeah.
Wow, that is like, it
is like frozen lemonade.
Like a sorbet of lemon, cheers.
Cheers, like a sorbet of lemon.
It's really refreshing,
it is pretty sweet.
Nice.
- Ahh.
- Thank you.
We're walking on to one more place
that specializes in
something that I've been
wanting to try in Tripoli,
a type of fish with a sauce.
Hello, nice to meet you.
The final stop in Tripoli is fo,
It's actually called,
oh, that pan of tahini.
And it is coming in fresh, oh, man, oh!
And I smelled it, like the
tomatoes and the tahini,
the fresh tahini in there, right?
- I saw her coming, and
she was going this way,
and I was like, "Please come."
- Please come in, please.
It's a dream come true.
So this place is called uniquely.
This place is called
The Sailor Woman Seafood
because the ladies here
are the ones that make
the sandwiches, which is very cool.
And they'll kind of prepare us a dish.
It's called samke harra in a
sandwich, right, samke harra?
- Harra, harra.
- Harra, harra.
- Harra.
- Harra.
- E harra.
- Samke harra.
- What it means is
spicy, harra means spicy.
- Ah, I didn't know
that, but that's perfect.
The dish is already mixed.
It's already mixed with the
tahini mixture and the spicy mixture.
And so what she does
to make the sandwich is
takes that mix, that fish
mix, sticks it into the bread,
added on some tomatoes, some
lettuce, I think pickles,
rolled that up, and then
stuck it in the toaster.
And that's, oh, octopus?
- Octopus.
- Oh, nice, oh, thank
you, thank you, ha ha ha.
Oh, yeah, very good, with the lemon.
- Lemon.
- And there's a spice in
it too, like pepper or,
- A little spice.
- It's so tender, it's
almost like chicken.
- Yes, this is, uh,
this is sardines, right?
- Visiting.
- Visiting.
- It's gotta be you, so.
- Mmmm, those are the fresh,
the sardines are salted and
dried, I think, sardines.
- Sardine?
- With tahini?
- Yeah, of course.
- Oh, yeah, with tahini, that's delicious.
That's wonderful, the
tahini is so good too.
- That's me.
- It's gotta be you, one more.
Thank you, that one is a squid, right?
Mmmm.
Final dish in Tripoli.
Oh, wow, yes.
This is, like the tahini is so thick.
It almost like melts into the fish.
It's all like one together, the tahini,
the creaminess is not mayonnaise
at all, it's all tahini.
- If you don't mind.
- I love how the bread is crispy.
She toasted a samke harra.
The harra does actually
mean spicy, but it wasn't,
the actual dish wasn't very spicy.
They said they'd make it not too spicy.
But there is chili powder on the side
that you can sprinkle on.
Oh, yeah, that just bumps it up a notch.
The flavor of the, not only
the, a little bit of spiciness
but the flavor of the
roasted chili and that,
the dry chili, that is
needed, a needed touch.
- Ahmad, thank you.
- Nice to meet you.
- Yes, nice to meet you.
Ahmad is an amazing guy.
- To spend my day in Tripoli with you.
- Thank you for showing us around.
That was an amazing day, man.
- Absolutely.
- An amazing day.
- He was the real deal, find him.
- He's the real deal.
- Thank you.
- Thank you, Ahmad.
And that's gonna wrap up this entire day.
Mostly in Tripoli, of
all the food, the market,
it's one of the handful of days of when,
like I almost cannot process how cool,
how the culture, the
amazing people we met,
the food along the way, the uniqueness.
Tripoli is one of those places I can feel
the heart, the people,
the culture, the food.
And so I wanna say a huge thank you,
especially to Ahmad for showing us around.
And finally, a huge thank you to USAID
for funding my trip to Lebanon,
for putting this together.
Thank you, USAID.
- How are you, man?
- Oh, it's amazing.
- How are you?
- Very good, very good.
What a day, man.
- It was an awesome day.
- Awesome day.
- Yes.
- In Tripoli and Byblos.
- Just, yeah, like the
ultimate food trip in Tripoli.
- Like mind-blowing.
- And then ending here
in this magical moments.
The sun was about to go down.
The colors were beautiful.
It's an alive town, just amazing.
- Yeah, amazing.
- Beautiful day.
- Cool.
See you all on the next video.
