Refreshing
The word sherbet comes from the Arabic word ‘sharbat’ and originally it meant a fruit drink. I’ve read that the Arabs, Persians, Turks, etc. had many fruit flavored drinks with exotic ingredients such as rose water and orange blossom water. I can well understand the need for a refreshing drink in these countries. Imagine hopping down from your camel after a long desert ride under the hot sun and upon entering the tent, you are offered some delightful fruit drink. Heaven!
Then again, how cold could your drink be out there under the sun? Maybe take hot tea or coffee in that case. Oh, no, I remember that coffee served in tiny cups in Syria and Turkey. It was as thick as molasses. Think how dry your mouth would be after a sip of that. No, stick to tea. Hot or warm or cold, it would be just the thing.
The picture above was taken in the Damascus souk, Hamadiyeh. There were shops in the souk itself selling fruit drinks and also vendors with carts along the small streets. This is one of the vendor’s carts with drinks poured and ready to be enjoyed. One drink is pomegranate juice, which most times was too tart for me. I don’t know what the other drink is, maybe grape.
Aleppo Souk
Once, in a humble Moroccan home, I was served a drink fit for the Pasha. It was orange juice, freshly squeezed, mixed with grated cucumber and most likely sweetened with sugar. Moroccans love sugar, lots of it!