Coffee, a Wonderful Snack, and a Cozy Bookshop

So I live in Beit Hanina, an Arab Palestinian neighborhood 15ish minutes outside of the Old City of Jerusalem, which is the actual place that the Torah, the Bible, the Quran, Roman historians, the Ottomans, the Mamelukes, the Ayyubids, the Sassanids, Flavius Josephus, etc. etc. were talking about whenever they said "Jerusalem." (It has walls and everything!) Than the Mount of Olives is basically a big hill to the east of the Old City.

Most of my life this year has orbited around this odd and exciting triangle. I live in Beit Hanina, work on the Mount of Olives, and do everything else around the Old City. That's where the Arab Palestinian Lutheran Church of the Redeemer is, and thus where I attend service and coffeehour and whatnot, but around the Old City is also "downtown," so it's a natural place to hang out in general.

One place I end up at a lot is a cafe/public-culture-meeting-place-type-thing/bookstore called the Educational Bookshop. And it's on Saladin Street, which is named for the famous Arab Muslim leader-hero who drove the foreign Crusaders out of the Levant. (He's kind of a big deal historically speaking.) (Almost like El Cid or Charlemagne or something? National hero from a 1,000 years ago type thing?)

But yeah, Saladin Street is the main street of East Jerusalem (whereas Jaffa Street is the main street of West Jerusalem).

And because I like books, and I like random lectures and meeting authors and hearing people talk about politics and culture and stuff, and most of all because I like coffeeshops -- I spend quite a bit of time there.

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Also I brought my family there so here's some pictures of us on the upper floor cafe area!!!

 Here's my mom drinking/eating sahlab, which is a traditional Middle Eastern-ish drink. (I say "ish" because apparently it gets around. There are many ways to spell/say it.) It's made with hot milk, orchid flour, sugar, and rose water. (I think sometimes hot water is subbed in for milk or artificial flavoring takes the orchid flour's place.) (And then regardless it's normal to pile coconut, cinnamon and pistachio pieces on top as well.)

When you're actually drinking/eating it though, it comes off more like a delicious, hot rice pudding -- thickness and sweetness wise -- although of course there is clearly no rice in it.

It's especially fantastic when it's cold outside. Although if it's hot outside you can just chill it after you make it and that's fantastic too.

Here's dad with a friend of mine named Mahmoud, who's part of the family that runs the bookstore. 

They're looking at a silly book I believe my dad now owns that translates and explains Arab folk-sayings. 

The other thing I do a lot of at the Bookshop is drink coffee. (of all kinds!)

But most often I'm drinking Arabic coffee, which is super strong, served boiling, and in which you can usually find a thick pile of very fine grains of murky coffee ground at the bottom. (Also not in *huge* quantities) Flavored with cardomom (which is ground in with the coffee beans) and with varying amounts of sugar too. (It's pretty great.)

And another informative link or two that I didn't find a good place to fit in.