Ice Cream Dreams

Booza (بوظة) means “ice cream” in Arabic. I used that word at least once a day when living in the Arab world. Why? Because the booza is amazing there and I was constantly asking people where to find it.

We lived in the old city of Damascus for a year and about two minutes from our house in the old Hamidiyeh Market was the world-famous Bakdash ice cream parlor.

Half the fun of the experience is the parlor itself. The entrance and the employees' outfits give it an old colonial soda shop feel. The house specialty is a sap, milk-flavored mix named 'haleeb' (Arabic for milk).

They give you a massive scoop either in a bowl or on a cone, then they shower it in pistachios. Quite a tasty dairy delight.

I drew this picture while waiting to be served, clearly with one thing on my mind. The stuff is so good, I dream about it sometimes.

The video below shows how my favorite ice cream is holding up in hard times. Love to Syria.