Koulouna lel watann – all for the nation – says the Lebanese national anthem!

But what is a nation? A land? Some stones, mountains and valleys ...

The dictionary defines a nation as a large aggregate of people united by common descent, history, culture or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory.

In my eyes though, what really unites people is not a country or a territory, but the common memories that form particular traditions and beliefs. A nation is also the sum of production, life, history, industry, food and agriculture.

And so, Tripoli has halawet el jebenn, Switzerland has watches, Paris has couture, Damascus has barazii’, Napoli has pizza and Parma has, well, Parma ham.

We are what we produce ... not what we consume.

We produce from a land, agriculture, pastures, history, traditions, climate and a need to survive and develop.

Traditions are long-established customs and beliefs that have been handed down from generation to generation.

Traditions are the know-how and the history of the land.

Traditions are memories of what made us, and our ancestors, through places and time.Leb Food Day 1981

And when it comes to food, traditions are not just about products and recipes but what all these hold as memories.

Lebanon is not just about an “unlived” symbol, like the cedar, but memories of tastes, sounds and lands. Lebanon is Feyrouz, Sabah and jazall, a sunset, an Eid gathering ... and most of all tabouleh, kebbeh, labneh, and the smell of rebb el banadoura in a mountain village, in early September.

So,  what is the taste of Lebanon for you? Or for that matter, what does Syria taste like? Or Kuwait? Egypt? Oman?
 
For more information on Kamal Mouzawak and the Souk el Tayeb activities, log onto to www.soukeltayeb.com