ancient civilizations--the Fertile Crescent

The Fertile Crescent is a region in the Near East, incorporating the Levant and Mesopotamia, and often incorrectly extended to Egypt. Mesopotamia is considered the cradle of civilization and saw the development of the earliest human civilizations and is the birthplace of writing and the wheel. The region broadly corresponds to present-day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Kuwait, Jordan, south-eastern Turkey and west and south-western Iran. The term "Fertile Crescent" was coined by University of Chicago archaeologist James Henry Breasted in his "Ancient Records of Egypt", around 1900.[1] The region was named so due to its rich soil and crescent shape.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertile_crescent, accessed August 6, 2009

As crucial as rivers were to the rise of civilization in the Fertile Crescent, they were not the only factor in the area's precocity. Ecologically the area is important as the "bridge" between Africa and Eurasia. This "bridging role" has allowed the Fertile Crescent to retain a greater amount of biodiversity than either Europe or North Africa, where climate changes during the Ice Age led to repeated extinction events due to ecosystems becoming squeezed against the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Coupled with the Saharan pump theory, this Middle Eastern land-bridge is of extreme importance to the modern distribution of Old World flora and fauna, including the spread of humanity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertile_crescent, accessed August 6, 2009

Wealthy Mesopotamiians ate meat while those less fortunate fished in the rivers and canals. Barley and wheat was common in the Fertile Crescent, as were fruits such as figs, dates and grapes.

Recipe for Date-Stuffed Pastries:

1/2 lb. dried, pitted dates
3 cups barley flour or combine 1-1/2 cups of all-purpose flour w/ 1-1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
3-5 Tbsp. cold milk
water

Cook dates in 1/4-1/2 c water on low heat until a thick paste forms. Let cool.

In a separate bowl, use a pastry cutter to cut butter into the flour until texture is coarse and grainy.

Add enough milk to hold the dough together. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 30 mins.

Break off a golf-ball sized piece of the chilled dough and roll it in your hands, forming a ball. Make a hole in the center of the ball w/ your thumb and index finger to make the hole larger. Fill the hole 3/4 full. Bring the hole together to seal the date paste (like a donut hole). Place on a baking sheet, and bake at 325 degrees for 25 mins.