Magic Sauce

I realize that the substance in this photo doesn't look all that exciting (as it turns out, brown syrup is extremely unphotogenic), but you have to trust me when I tell you that this sauce is the stuff dreams are made of.  We first tasted the sauce at a local restaurant, where we ordered a platter of ten small salads, hummus, and dips that was served with fresh-baked bread.  The majority of the platter was filled with things we had seen before, so we were initially thrown off by this ugly sauce that was completely unfamiliar.  Once we tried it, though, we couldn't get enough.  I was even tempted to ask for more so that we could eat it straight from the bowl.  We dipped bread, vegetables, and even other sauces into it, noticing that each one had a better flavor with it than without.  By the end of our meal, I knew I would have to learn to make the sauce at home.  The server told us that the only ingredients were dates, honey, and tahini, so the next night I got out the food processor and proceeded to try my hand at the sauce.  As is usually the case when trying to recreate restaurant food without a recipe, it didn't turn out great.  Edible yes, but by no means magical.

Fast forward about a week, and I am on a tour of the Mehane Yehuda market.  The guide leads us into a cramped shop selling all sorts of dried goods-- from beans and rice to nuts and spices-- and pulls from the shelf this jar of date syrup.  He tells us about its incredible flavor and then it hits me: This is the missing ingredient from my magic sauce recipe!  I bought a jar and remade the sauce, this time using the date syrup instead of blended whole dates.  Where the previous sauce lacked a bold date flavor and deep color, this sauce had it all.  I love kitchen triumphs.

I am not sure if you can find unsweetened date syrup in stores stateside, but it would be worth looking for it at your local health/natural food store just in case.  The only ingredient should be dates, as seen in this syrup I found on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Date-Lady-Organic-Syrup/dp/B008EXLL4O

To make the sauce, simply combine 1/4 cup date syrup, 1/4 tahini, and 1 tablespoon honey in a bowl.  Honestly, that's it.  No special equipment required :)  Use this as a dip for breads, mix into yogurt at breakfast, or even combine with more savory dishes for an amazing sweet-savory combination.  Enjoy!

Masada and the Dead Sea

A couple weekends ago we hopped a bus about 2 hours outside of Jerusalem to Masada and the Dead Sea.  Despite getting a bit of motion sickness on the bus ride out there (I should know better than to sit in the back of the bus by now), this was probably one of the best things we have done so far.  Masada is the site of archeological ruins from palaces built by Herod the Great between 37 and 31 BCE.  The palace and surrounding buildings are all situated on top on a massive plateau, which provided protection from invaders until the Romans figured out a way to get up and seize the city in 73 CE.  One of the (many) incredible struggles of maintaining a city on top of a mountain in the middle of the desert is water.  Amongst the ruins are numerous cisterns that could hold vast amounts of water for the residents of the city, but when the Romans were planning their attack on Masada, they also had to figure out how to source water.  Walking to and from the closet source of drinkable water would have taken almost one full day, so the Romans must have had groups going back and forth at all times.

 To get to the ruins, you can either hike up the mountain or take a cable car.  We opted for the hike up the Snake Trail (which you can see in this photo), and quickly realized that hiking in the desert is no joke. 

Just a small portion of the ruins.  It is miraculous how intact so many of the walls and buildings still are after all of these years.

 The inside of one of the remaining structures.  The black line on the wall indicates where the original wall ends, so the colorful pieces date back over 2000 years.

 The bathhouse room had a unique heating system that involved two floors.  Here you can see some of the pillars that held the upper floor a couple feet above the lower floor.  A furnace outside the room funneled hot air into the cavity between the floors, which heated the water poured on top of the second floor.

 Looking directly at the center of this photo, you can see a diamond shape in the sand.  This is one of the spots where the Romans set up camp as they planned their siege of Masada.  I kept thinking how terrifying it would have been to be at the top of the mountain just watching the Romans plan their attack on your home.

 Perspective on how steep the mountain really is.  In order to invade, the Romans had to build a ramp leading up the side of the mountain.

 There are a couple little structures like this around the grounds and we learned that they were designed to house doves.  The doves would nest in the spaces between the stone (seen on the left).  The residents could use their droppings for fertilizer and eat their meat.

 Beautifully preserved tile floor.

Below: A view of the Judean Desert from the top of Masada.  The Dead Sea is the body of water in the distance.

 Remains of the Byzantine church.

 The Dead Sea was a well-deserved treat after spending the day hiking and walking around in the hot sun.  Just look at that water!  This is the lowest point on Earth and the high salt content of the water prevents you from sinking. 

 Although gorgeous, the water does have an interesting texture-- almost slimy from all of the minerals it contains.  You come out feeling oily and gritty, but then you just cover yourself in mud anyway :)

 The mud pit.

 All along the shoreline, we found these huge salt deposits.  The rocks along the water were all covered in a thick layer of hardened salt.

For some reason I thought the water of the Dead Sea was going to be fairly dirty and murky, but it turned out to be just the opposite.  The water was crystal clear and bright blue!

The Dead Sea is a place that I learned about in text books growing up, but I honestly never imagined I would have the opportunity to experience it myself.  This was such a magical day and I hope the pictures do it justice!

xo. D+E

Lunch

Have I mentioned what a chore cooking and shopping has felt like since leaving Seattle?  It's incredible how accustomed I got to things being in a certain place, knowing that I could buy great meat from the farmer's market every weekend, having a handful of stores to choose from that sell local, organic produce.  As we traveled down the coast to California, our options seemed to get more and more limited, and then-- boom.  We got to Israel.  I quickly realized that buying organic was going to be a luxury, not a deal-breaker.  Where I used to make a point of knowing where our food came from, I now feel lucky if I walk out of a grocery store with produce at all.

Now, there are definitely some great places to shop (we even found a tiny natural foods market just around the corner from our house and I will do a whole post dedicated to the Mehane Yehuda market soon), but the reality is just that things are different here.  For the first couple of weeks, we basically ate out for lunch and dinner because going to the store was too overwhelming (also note that everything is labeled in Hebrew).  But, now that we have our own apartment and I feel like I am getting a better sense of what people eat here (they cannot possibly subsist on pita, hummus, and falafel alone, right?), cooking is starting to feel fun again.

I took a cooking class a few nights ago and was amazed at the simplicity of preparation and incredible depth of flavor each dish presented.  We made three different salads, and each was dressed with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Done.  So simple, but the freshness of each ingredient was really able to shine through.

This salad is one that I whipped up for lunch today and it is based on this principle of simplicity.  I actually cannot even give you a real recipe, but I imagine it would be hard to mess this one up.  Just thinly slice a few carrots and a few peeled Jerusalem artichokes (also called sunchokes and they look like this: http://home.howstuffworks.com/jerusalem-artichokes.htm).  Toss with the juice of 1/2 a lemon, a few glugs of olive oil, and a generous sprinkling of sea salt.  Finish with a handful of chopped fresh parsley and salty cheese (I used the Israeli equivalent to feta).  You will notice some purple bits in the photo and these are pickled baby eggplants (!!).  I have never seen these in the states, but seek them out if you can.  Otherwise, olives or even pickled onions would work great here.

Here's to not being a in a food rut :)

Tower of David (The Citadel)

Despite what our photos seem to suggest, the entire city of Jerusalem is not located within the walls of the Old City.  Quite like Seattle, Jerusalem is comprised of a series of neighborhoods, each having its own distinct personality.  It is not surprising that many tourists might only experience the Old City, as this area is so densely packed with history and sights, but the other neighborhoods have been fun to explore, as well.  Our new apartment is located southwest of the Old City, in a neighborhood called Old Katamon.  While the neighborhood itself is mostly residential, we are just a couple blocks away from a more hopping neighborhood called the German Colony and Eric is only a 15 minute walk from his school.  The German Colony is brimming with coffee shops, restaurants serving a wide range of international foods (there is even a place which we think will become our new Delancey equivalent, except for the fact that the delicious flat bread will never be topped with cheese and sausage...welcome to the land of keeping Kosher), and English speakers.  The entire city is fairly English friendly, but this particular neighborhood seems especially accommodating without being ultra touristy.  We will post pictures of this neighborhood soon, but all of this is to say that Jerusalem mostly looks like a normal city that just happens to have some crazy historically significant areas :)

So, now to discuss today's topic: The Tower of David.  This museum of sorts lies just inside the Old City wall at the Jaffa Gate (there are various entrances into the Old City, each with its own name), and is comprised of remnants of a palace dating back to the 1st century, a contemporary gallery with local art, and exhibitions detailing the history of Jerusalem.  As I am sure you have noticed by now, Jerusalem has been in the hands of many different rulers and each ruling period is marked by a distinct style or religion.  It can be pretty overwhelming to keep track of the timeline of this city, so a museum like this that breaks it all down into manageable pieces is a nice compliment to all of the tour books and History Channel YouTube videos (yes, we do normally watch educational videos to help make sense of everything we are experiencing!).  Someday I will try to put together a timeline of the different ruling periods, but I have a feeling it will turn into a bigger project than I am anticipating :)

Here are a few pictures from our morning at the Tower.  I will mention one fact that was especially interesting about this fortress: When the Crusaders took over the Tower, they built a moat around the walls for added protection.  However, being that Jerusalem is located in the middle of the desert and water is scarce, the moat was never filled.  I suppose even an empty moat provides some extra protection from invaders, but we thought it was funny that the builders would consider adding a moat that they knew could never be filled.

 A model of the Tower of David fortress as it stands today.  Along the left you can see the dry moat that runs along the outside of the walls.

 Happy tourists :)

 This model of Jerusalem was built in 1872 by a Hungarian immigrant.  It is hard to see here, but he captured so many details of the city and the model itself is quite large (maybe 8 feet by 7 feet or so?).  After being shown in a few fairs around Europe, the model was tucked away and forgotten in the Geneva Public Library for 64 years.  It was uncovered in 1984 and moved back to Jerusalem for renovation and display.

 The courtyard at the Tower of David.

 View of the Temple Mount and Mount of Olives from one of the towers.

 Pathways through the fortress walls.

Standing on the bridge just outside the main gate to the Tower, this is a view of the bustling area just inside the Jaffa Gate in the Old City.

City of David

Just outside the Old City walls to the east is the entrance to the City of David, which slopes down towards the northeast and gives breathtaking views of the Kidron Valley (which is largely inhabited by Palestinians).  This area is one of the few places that you actually have to pay to enter, but the sights here were certainly worth the fee.  The City of David is one of the oldest areas of Jerusalem, with excavations uncovering walls and artifacts dating back over 3000 years.  When King David captured Jerusalem in 1000 BCE, he made this the capitol of Israel and there are remnants today of homes occupied by royalty and upper class citizens on the slope overlooking the Kidron Valley.  It is interesting to note that some of the sites in the City of David were discovered fairly recently (some as recently as 2005).

 Kidron Valley

 Eric looking out onto the Kidron valley from an excavation site.

 Largely Palestinian settlement directly across the hill from the City of David.  Unfortunately, the homes in this area are apparently threatened, as the city wants to turn this whole section of land into an archeological park.

The two holes you can see in this photo are actually tombs from the ancient period.  We found it so fascinating that people's homes were just built around these burial sites from thousands of years ago. 

The highlight of this area is walking through Hezekiah's Tunnel, which is an unlighted waterway connecting the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam.  During Hezekiah's reign (700 BCE), the Gihon Spring was the main water source for the city, but was located just outside the city walls.  When it became clear that the Assyrians were planning an attack on the city, Hezekiah (needing to find a way to protect this vital water supply) built a tunnel that moved water from the Gihon under the city walls to the Pool of Siloam, thus preventing the Assyrians from shutting off the water supply to Jerusalem. Yet again, it was an incredible (and fairly indescribable) experience to walk through this tunnel that is almost 3000 years old.

 The initial descent underground towards the tunnel.

 After working your way further and further underground, you finally come across this small opening, which is the beginning of the tunnel.

 As you walk through the tunnel, you wade through flowing water, which rises to varying levels throughout the tunnel but never get much higher than knee-height.

 There are no lights, so a flashlight is absolutely crucial!  The walls are generally pretty narrow, but the ceiling varies from being very low to quite tall.  The tunnel was actually built by having two sets of diggers coming towards each other from either side of the city wall.  On the walls of the tunnel, you can actually see the distinct directional patterns of the diggers tools and about halfway through the tunnel you can see where the two parties met. 

 A quick video showing the inside of the tunnel.  It takes about 30-40 minutes to walk all the way through, and you are walking through water the entire time.

Built in the Byzantine era, the Shiloach Pool is said to be where Jesus healed a blind man.  Up until 2005, this area was covered by debris and garbage, so it is a fairly new discovery.  This is just a bit further past the Pool of Siloam, which is just outside the exit of the tunnel.

After emerging from Hezekiah's tunnel you are at the very bottom of the hill that the City of David sits on.  In order to work our way back up to the top of the city, we walked through this dry tunnel that used to be the main thoroughfare in the heyday of the city.

 Excavations are ongoing and we are constantly amazed how these ancient stone walls still stand strong despite being buried under dirt for hundreds (or thousands) of years.

A mosaic floor uncovered in the excavation site shown above.  Again, how these tiles remain so intact (and how archeologists do not just plow through them as they dig) is incomprehensible to me.

This has definitely been one of the highlights of the trip so far and we hope that you all can get a sense of the magic from these photos :) xo.

Temple Mount/Dome of the Rock/Western Wall

 The Western Wall is one of the holiest sites for those of Jewish faith.  Pilgrims come from all over the world to pray at the Wall, which is a remnant of the ancient temple built by King Herod in 19 BC.  The Holy Presence is said to always be here at this site, so you are asked to dress modestly and be respectful of those who have come to pray.

 The Wall is separated into male and female sections for prayer...which seems unfortunate in this day and age.

 The breathtaking Dome of the Rock is the holiest site in the Muslim faith and also has great significance for the Jewish faith.  Only those of Muslim faith are allowed inside the temple, which houses the rock where Muhammad is said to have ascended from the earth to join Allah.  Those of Jewish faith believe this is the place where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his only son Isaac as a testament of his faith.

 According to Muslim tradition, the arches surrounding the Dome is where the souls of the earth will be weighed on judgement day.

 The dome itself is made of solid gold.

 The exterior walls are covered in intricate tile mosaics.

 The Temple Mount is the greater area surrounding the Dome.  This area feels so peaceful and you can see everything from groups of tourists to children playing soccer to people of faith washing their hands and removing shoes in order to enter the temple to worship.

This was such an amazing experience and you can really feel the weight of this place just being on the grounds.  There is clearly a lot of significance surrounding this site, and it is really an honor to be here.