Farmers market at Souk el Tayeb in Saifi Village - Beirut, Lebanon

What are these furry creatures? They look chic - very chick, just as parts of Beirut that were spared (hardly) or have been rebuilt/restored and or blessed with the vision of civic minded populace, or the commitment to rebuild by SOLIDERE, a world renowned real estate superhouse.

But what you see above, are chestnuts, one of many familiar and not-so-familiar discoveries we made, barely awake, still settling in from our flights from NYC, the night before, as we met Richard, a friend we made the night before, and who very graciously invited us to meet him at the Saturday morning farmers market at Saifi Village. As tired as we were, I am glad we did not say no.

Bad iPhotos only capture the moment, but as you can see, they need hardly any embellishment. There is a brilliance to this market, Beirut and Lebanon as a whole, that comes out shining even when documented without great fanfare. That is the true grit, gift and genius of the Lebanese. It is their tireless spirt, every hopeful souls, and richer than currency hearts.

Continue along, as my iPhone camera captures the marvels of the vital even if small farmers market, and you will see faces, foods, vegetables and fruits, also pickles and preserve - that nourish the bodies, warm the hearts certainly traumatized and crushed by wars and bombs, and the preserves and pickles that preserve what are undoubtedly some of the most generous and full of life spirits and people one can ever hope to meet.

simple as grapes, yet full of promise and flavor, personality and magic - like the people we met in Lebanon

custard apples, called Sharifa in Hindi, were also at the market. Unlike their US counterparts, plucked immaturely from the trees, these had pronounced pockets of cream. And the wondrous smell infusing the early morning air - which was already being challenged by the heat of the day - with its haunting and restorative powers

in lands remote, it warms my heart to find chiles - here beautifully dried, displayed and sharing stage with farm fresh organic vegetables - and flowers

plain ole eggplant - but the secret behind the better-than-any babaghanoush we ate across Lebanon. Picked when perfectly ripe, in season and grown with respect and care, without fear of blemishes and scars - a site to behold in natural form and as baba

and if those were not inspiring enough for you to cook eggplants, around the corner, another vendor, and more eggplants

what beautiful eggs - but have my girls ruined me? Even these farm fresh eggs, from free range birds, did not touch me as the eggs given us by our girls at the farm. The power of connection and memory!

How could one not be hopeful when surrounded by such wonderful edibles

magic in jars, bottles, packages and more

grains, legumes, beans, peas, preserves, pickles, olives fresh and in oil, cheese fresh and marinated, even spiced - what beautiful living - even in the grip of ever present reality of docile elements within and on the other sides of the borders

what did Ruth Reichl say, "Comfort me with apples", here you can find those and figs and more

fruits in jars, essences of flowers in water - wish I could still read Arabic script. Shame on me for not keeping up with my Urdu lessons and reading. At least I could have read what was written so beautifully on the labels

herbs, olives, olive oil and then some

wonderful honey, from Syrian bees, and the vendor gave up his US lottery for immigration to stay back in Lebanon - after finding out we were American, he told us this. Wondered if he had made a mistake. We thought not. He had a wonderful life, and of course sweetened beautifully by his own honey

there were these limes - with stems and leaves, and then there were limes double or triple in size, filled with what seemed like litres of juice - sweet and citrusy, with just enough astringent and bitter - perfection, really

 

A Mankousheh (pronounced ManOOOShi) vendor at the farmers market, making them to order, stuffed with zaatar, cheese, olives, oil and other fillings to your liking. If you thought only tourists like us would be impressed and charmed, think again, everyone was excited by the preparation of Mankousheh, and you can see that in the last photo above

Of Pomegarantes and fathers and sons - The son making us Pomegranate juice - pressed by hand. Charming and fresh. But no match to the Kandahari pomegranates we savored back home in India. How is Kandahar? What will happen to Afghanistan... are the pomegranate orchards even there anymore? Drinking the juice, enjoying it that moment, it transported me to India, to Afghanistan and to Kandahar. Is the son wearing Druse garb? 

preserved cheese and vegetables - as delicious to taste, as they are easy on the eyes

one of the vegetable stands - captured as all stands and produce and products above my my iPhone camera, so add some more visual beauty to the market, please.

At the farmers market, in the heart of Beirut, we forgot we were living that moment, in a country always in the mouth of war, already broken and destroyed many  times over, but never at a loss for hope and life. In fact contrary to what would be expected - here live people living fully and wholly, pushing the envelope every moment of their existence. Celebrating life like few could. Perhaps because they know what it is to lose everything and then be left behind to live again - and that has made them a special class of world citizens. Not poorer for their past - but living today, even better for what suffering they have seen. Bravo!

Comments

[Charlie Burd]

Missing the Mankoushe as I sit here. Mankoushe with Labneh, Zaatar, Olive Oil, Gebnee - and then to finish a little Nutella! That with a cup of hot tea and life is good walking the streets of Beirut!

Also, do not miss the dried figs stuffed with almonds!

[Mary Ann Joulwan]

I was both captivated and overwhelmed by the beauty and variety of fruits, vegetables,
pickles and preserves in the Souk el Tayeb and the glorious photographs that accompanied them. I wanted to taste everything!
Suvir, you did a wonderful job in covering so
many aspects of the Souk, as in the preparation of Mankousheh and the pressing of pomegranate juice by hand. Bravo!

[Mary Ann Joulwan]

I wanted to buy everything when I saw the
dazzling array of fruits, vegetables, pickles
and preserves at the Souk el Tayeb farmers
market in Safi Village. I could almost taste the tart, tangy goodness of the freshly baked Mankousheh and the hand pressed pomegranate juice. Nice coverage.

[Lisa]

Wonderful trip to the Farmer's Market. Thank EWE!

[tarek]

Suvir jaan , your photos n comments brought me back home if for few minutes , the labels on the bottles n jars read , cumin , rosemary , zatter, mint , apricot, peach , carrot, green walnut , sevilla orange , and other that were too hard to read or translate , kisses

[Stacey]

What a wonderful photo montage, Suvir. Felt like I was there. Could almost smell the intoxicating aromas!