Baghdad Street Food Mountain! Iraqi Food Market Tour!

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My first day in Iraq continued in Baghdad’s Souq al-Saray, the city’s most famous indoor market. Come with me to the old town of Baghdad and let’s explore this incredible bazaar!

Joining me were my friends Jafar and Ali from Bil Weekend, as well as my good buddy Tasos. Right away, we passed by vendors selling clothing, school supplies, briefcases, and some gorgeous leatherwork. I saw some beautiful wallets with intricate images pressed into them!

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I also saw some amazing belts, more wallets with Arabic script on them, leather keychains, purses, and more. Past the leather section were more books and school supplies. Then, we stopped by Kubba al-Saray to grab some lunch!

In the small café, which dates back to 1930, I saw the making what looked like matzoh balls in gravy. There, we got the kubba saray, which is a grain ball that’s stuffed with lamb and minced onions and has a tomato-based animal bone broth poured on top. We also had bread, pickles, and more gravy on the side.

It looked beautiful and tasted even better. I loved how moist and juicy it was. Adding a date sauce gave it a nice sweetness that was fantastic! I also liked the peppers and the bread that came with it!

The proper way to do it is to take a piece of bread, open it up, and put the kubba saray, pickles, and date sauce inside. It makes a very nice sandwich! You can also dip the bread into the broth!

Next, we headed to Al Shahbender Café, one of Baghdad’s oldest cafés. They have lots of old photos from the 1950s and ‘60s on the walls there. There, we got some lime tea, which is their specialty. It was incredible, and nice and hot. Then, I had some apple shisha and went into the kitchen to see where they make the coals for the shisha.

Outside, we saw a vendor making fresh pomegranate juice, which was very tart but fresh and tasty. I liked the seeds in it. It woke me up!

From there, we walked to the Tigris River and hopped on a boat to rake a ride down the river. We rode past part of Old Baghdad and part of the new part of the city, too. From there, we returned from where we came from and got a fig juice from the vendor. It was delicious!

It was 3pm, so it was pretty empty out. In Iraq, the locals take a siesta during the hottest part of the day and then come back out in the evening. Then, we walked to the oldest juice shop in Baghdad. It dates back to 1900!

We got a raisin juice, which was cold and refreshing. It was basically non-alcoholic wine! They also sell pomegranate juice. Both were some of the best juices I’d ever had in my life! I also got a sweet muffin, which was really tasty with the juices!

Our tour of Baghdad continued for a late lunch/early dinner at a restaurant that was once a house dating back to 1939. The owner took me on a tour. In the back, they have terrariums with wild animals in them.

He’s a wildlife activist. He has geckos, tortoises, snakehead turtles, snakes, lizards, and more. He also had Hermann’s tortoises and a green iguana! They’re beautiful animals!

Then, in the kitchen, we saw them cooking kebabs and a tanoor bread called khubz tannour. I loved the sesame seeds in it! They also made dolmas, meat pies, fried fish, lamb fat, fried eggplant, and more! It was a huge platter of food!

The lamb fat was charred and juicy, and the kubba mosul (meat pie) contained delicious minced lamb. I loved it with the pomegranate sauce! The chicken tikka had a smoky flavor, and the fried eggplant was delicious. I loved the aroog (kabab tawa) with pomegranate and the crispy and tender fried carp. The kebab was also super meaty!

I ended with the dolma, which was made with chard and contained onions, tomato paste, and peppers. What a day!

Where have you been?

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About Me:

My name is David Hoffmann. Since starting David’s Been Here in 2008, I have traveled to over 1,300 destinations in 94 countries to experience and document unique cultures on my YouTube channel, travel blog, and social media.
 
I highlight culture and historical sites, but my passion is food! I love to experience and showcase the different flavors each destination has to offer, from casual street food to gourmet restaurant dining.

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