Abu Issa
The compound backed the sea. At times I heard the waves, smelled the salty water, fish and seaweed. On Thursdays, a skinny, older man named Abu-Issa came carrying a woven basket filled with fish and prawns. He wore a wrap-around long checkered skirt, a wife-beater...
Saudi home.. Dammam
Our Saudi home was in a gated community on the outskirts of Dammam, close to Kateef. It must have been built in the early sixties. It housed two larger double story homes, and forty some mid-size homes. It was gated in by a palm tree branches (sa3f) fence. The...
summertime and pistachio ice cream
My favorite summer treat was Syrian ice cream; while many family members enjoyed the creamy ice cream served in cones by street vendors near Sibki Park, I savored this Syrian summer delight. I loved because it was a feast for my senses.. the ice cream maker prepared...
Hama delicacies
One of my oldest memories of Hama was in the kitchen in Jiddo Mohamad's house. The smell of the warm buttery crust, the spiced meat and toasted pine nuts flowed down the halls of the old house, leading me to the kitchen. My step-grandmother "Khaleh Um-Samir" was...
the art of apricot jam
Apricot jam was a special treat; I could have developed a liking to it because I watched older women in the family making it. The process was fascinating. I don't remember the sequence or the entire process, however, I remember walking into the kitchen to find my...
Heritage
Everyone in my family spoke Arabic, and they spoke it with a relatively uniform accent. Therefore references to our Turkish, Kurdish, North African heritage didn't really make sense to me until later in life. When I visited my great maternal aunt (Khalto Najah), I...
Rama Chakaki
Partner - Transform VC. Co-founder - VIP.fund
Impact Tech Founder & Investor. Creating peace through education. Life learner. TedxBeaconStreet speaker 2017