West Asian Food
A meal in ancient Nineveh (about 700 BC)
The people of West Asia traditionally divided themselves into two groups who had very different eating and drinking habits, and who thought of themselves as enemies, even though they also traded with each other all the time. One group lived in the river valleys and on the plains, the flat land, and they were farmers. They lived mainly on wheat and barley, made into flat bread (like pita bread or pizza) or porridge. They also ate a lot of lentils and chickpeas (garbanzo beans), which they made into falafel and humus. These valley people drank beer, made out of their grain.
The other group lived up in the hills, and they were
shepherds and goatherds. They
ate a lot of cheese and yogurt
and roasted mutton, and they drank
milk and fermented (alcoholic) milk drinks. They traded their cheese
to the valley people for wheat and barley for their bread, and for beans.
To find out more about food in West Asia, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library:
The Oldest Cuisine in the World : Cooking in Mesopotamia, by Jean Bottero (2004). A whole history of food, with some recipes (but basically not a cookbook).
Find Out About Mesopotamia: What Life Was Like in Ancient Sumer, Babylon and Assyria, by Lorna Oakes (2004).
Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide, by Marian Broida (1999). Not just Egypt! Includes simple recipes for kids from the Sumerians, the Babylonians, the Hittites, and the Nubians.
