Ask anyone who has travelled to the Middle East to describe the region and they will struggle to create a picture that comes anywhere close to their experience.  Spices dominate the Middle East, their fragrance, colours and in food, their taste. One cannot really define the Middle East unless one is familiar with the spices of the region and this is also true with food.

Middle Eastern food can be sophisticated, and with a barrage of exotic tastes hitting the tongue, or simple, with something special about them.  Food in the Middle East is something every tourist has to try and here are a few dishes and items worth looking out for.

Iraqi Masgouf. Let’s start with something unusual, Carp. This freshwater fish is something most people would very easily turn their noses up to, and quite rightly so, carp is not the most appealing of foods. However, when carp has been slow-cooked for three or four hours leaving none of the fishy fat carp is known for, and then served with lemon, pickles and maybe a salad carp takes on a whole new meaning.

Baklava. Okay, let’s go to another extreme far away from carp. Baklava is a Middle Eastern sweet dish that is known and loved worldwide. Chopped nuts, lashings of sweet syrup and honey with filo pastry mad with plenty of butter make a dish that is so amazing that it is little wonder it is one of the most popular in the world but it is best eaten in the Middle East.

Mansaf. This has been described by many as the Middle Eastern Pizza, but is quite a bit different from the average piece of pie found on a New York street. This Jordanian and Palestinian dish is a culinary delight made from lamb or mutton, sprinkled with pine nuts and almonds, that float in a layer of rich creamy yoghurt. Mansaf can be served on a plate, but for a real experience it is eaten at a celebration, and the table becomes the plate.  It is a simple dish but the slow cooked tender mutton is something fit for a king.

Moutabal. The Middle East is famous for Hummus but there is a dip that surpasses Hummus hands down. Moutabal is a spiced up dip made from Eggplant, a little tahini and yoghurt. It is smokier and more flavoursome than Hummus and will become your new favourite dip very quickly.

The Middle East is well known for its different foods and many tourists never get to try them simply because they don’t know what something is and don’t know how to ask for it. Speaking Arabic can open up the culinary delights of the Middle East allowing you to explore new tastes with ease. Even a few words help, but a full control of the language gets you more experiences than you could ever dream of.

The importance of being multilingual should not be overlooked by frequent travellers. It becomes essential in some parts of the globe, just like your passport or mobile. Learning a new language reaps benefits beyond the reach of tourist maps, guides etc…  Books and internet are of no use when you have to negotiate prices with a street vendor who doesn’t speak your native tongue.
There are many official excuses about why you should avoid learning a few foreign languages. Most excuses include being too busy or too lazy. Nevertheless, we have come up with a few reasons why you shouldn’t excuse yourself from enriching your travel experience through leaning a language.

Learning any foreign language is easy:
Learning any foreign language with VLLC is much easier than it sounds. It can be accomplished much more quickly than you expect. The key is to know what you want. You don’t have to be proficient enough to write poetry and you don’t have to be intimidated by the strange looking alphabets and never ending grammatical rules. For starters, you don’t have to be fluent in the language to survive in any country. The ability to communicate and have a decent understanding of the language goes a long way. Learning a language specifically for travel can include relevant vocabulary in a short period of time is really possible with VLLC.

Learning local language makes life easy:
When you speak their language, you can have a far more valuable experience with the locals. Knowing how to order food and drinks at hotels alone can save you money. It’s logistically easier to navigate a city through trains, buses or walking, when you know some basics in the language. You can also protect yourself from scams more readily if you speak their language as you do when you speak only English. Being able to speak the local language helps you to be accepted more readily for the most part. Not looking like an Uber-tourist in any foreign land has its benefits. Learning a few words to enable you to ask for directions doesn’t demand too much preparation.

Language is the gateway to culture:
If you have ever tried learning a foreign language, you would know language isn’t the only thing you would absorb. Along with the language, you would learn some history and culture of the country. Even being able to read a passage in a short story would open your mind to various aspects of culture or folklore. Some cultural values would appeal to you and stay forever. Difference in the depth of understanding of a poem or story would vary with the way you learn it. Reading mere translations and reading the original passage would show the difference. Foreign music can also take your experience to a whole new level.

Local language keeps loneliness at bay:
It’s common to feel lonelier when you are away from home. Homesickness can creep in subtly. When you know the language, you can make friends more easily. Sharing a story is a lot better than just a smile. Developing lasting relationships in a safe and pleasant manner can be a real life changing experience. Knowing the local language gives you more options to do something interesting than just following the run of mill tourist plan.  Your ability to experience local life in a new country would increase dramatically. There wouldn’t be any need to resort to the lonely international traveller lifestyle.