{"id":564,"date":"2015-11-25T13:24:35","date_gmt":"2015-11-25T13:24:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mashya.co.il\/?p=564"},"modified":"2021-05-26T19:19:50","modified_gmt":"2021-05-26T16:19:50","slug":"abu-ali","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mashya.co.il\/abu-ali\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Abu Ali’"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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'Abu Ali'<\/h1>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Peqi’in is a town full of surprises. Some are big, like the legend that the mysterious Zohar, the centuries-old book of Jewish mysticism, was written in a cave here, and some are small, pleasant ones that peek out from every alleyway, between the vines that drape the stone walls, and from the heavy doorways. These small surprises include some especially delicious ones, like the spice shop where we first met Abu Ali.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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When we first arrived, he was haggling with the store’s owner, adamantly refusing to lower the price of the fresh herbs waiting in the car parked outside. Bargaining is a ritual, and as we waited, breathing in the shop’s intense aromas of cumin and saffron, and the heady smells of cloves and cardamom, we could easily see that despite the owner’s insistence on driving a hard bargain, he wouldn’t be able to pass up Abu Ali’s excellent crop.<\/p>

The elderly Druze farmer piqued our curiosity. With a thick mustache and wearing his sun hat even inside the store, he resembles old drawings of Israeli pioneers. He was also intrigued by us \u2013 Tel Avivian city types, fumbling around and sniffing at everything in sight.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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