Seafood

If it weren’t for the shimmering blue horizon of the Mediterranean, Gaza might feel like a dungeon. The long coastline of sandy beaches is an outlet for Gazan’s joie de vivre, teeming with families picnicking, children flying kites, and brightly painted boats plying the waters. This intimate relationship with the sea makes for magnificent seafood. While most of the population of coastal pre-1948 Palestine is now confined to the landlocked West Bank or in diaspora far from the Mediterranean coast, Gaza remains as one of the last repositories of the Palestinian fishing and seafood tradition. These fresh and spicy preparations are consistent crowd-pleasers.