on Middle Eastern sweets

As a general rule, the nations of the Middle East are remarkable when it comes to the preparation of sweets. Syria stands out for its especial excellence in this respect: the old city of Damascus is a paradise of candied almonds and other, similar items. Jordan is another country where I enjoyed superb desserts in a regular basis. Anything involving honey is usually prepared with particular skill.

However, chocolate is not something that is usually done well in this part of the world. Most of the time I avoid it completely in Egypt, since it usually disappoints. But the box I just purchased in Zamalek is an exception. It’s definitely domestic Egyptian product, and most definitely excellent.