Bazaar Vest

John and I have been getting to know our downstairs neighbors. Wael is from Egypt. Martina is from Slovakia. They have a little boy, Adam (pronounced Ad-DOM), who is learning Slovak, Arabic and English. Tina pops her head out her window while I hand laundry, and we've chatted quite a bit. We all had dinner together last week, and decided at that point to to go Bazaar Vest together.

Bazaar Vest is a market outside of town that specializes in Middle Eastern foods. There are stalls for meat, bread, sweets (hello, Baklava!) and clothing. There are also small markets for packaged foods from overseas, everything from pasta, olive oil and risotto to Raman noodles (go figure) and Capri Sun. They have the best fruit market in town.

John and I went once before, but the crowds bother John, and it's a long bus ride. It's very noisy. I also have no idea how to order meat at their butcher- there are cows just hanging there, waiting to be spoken for. (The meat does look wonderful, though.) Getting out there just seems more trouble than it's worth.

This time we were going with friends. Better yet, friends that knew the ins and outs of the market (it's rather maze-like). We came home with bags of fruit, fresh bread (half the price in town!), dates, and veggies that for once didn't look like they were about to rot. John bought some Turkish delight, which he said was very sweet, kinda like a gumdrop.

We all had a good time. I think Wael and Tina liked showing us around. Next time we go, however, it will have to be past the Ramadan fasting. There were stalls selling roasted chickens, samosas, and shawarma, as well as sweets. I was dying to try things, but couldn't bring myself to eat in front of all the fasting Muslims. (I know they don't mind, but I feel rude.) We all decided that next time we go, we're going for lunch!