Gazan Food in Context

Palestine forms part of a broad cultural continuum that stretches across the lands once known as Bilad il-Sham, the Levant. Its cuisine, therefore, has much in common with other cuisines from this region, between what is now Turkey and the edge of the Nile. Birthplace of the olive tree, Palestine has a rich indigenous food heritage. Moreover, the many civilizations that have contended for this storied corner of the world have all left their mark on its cuisine: the perfumed rice of the Persians, the date preparations of the Arabs, the yogurt dishes of the Turks.