Chapter 66: A sandstorm (1/2)

From the distance, Alex could smell the faint fragrance of spices and gulped in gluttony.

They accelerated their steps and halted at the entrance to the tent. The man stepped down from the camel and tied it next to a group of other camels.

He then untied the fabric around his face, revealing his sparse beard and dark skin. The man entered the tent and exclaimed, ”We have guests!”

Following that, he turned to them and said, ”Enter and make yourselves at home.”

”Thank you.” The two said.

The interior of the tent wasn't very big but there were a lot of people.

Many men, women, and children were inside and it seemed they were in the process of cooking.

A woman from the bunch approached them and lightly bowed, ”May peace be upon you, I am Fatima, the matriarch of the tribe. My husband and the leader of the tribe is Yazid, the man you met earlier.”

Hermes replied with a slight bow, ”May peace be upon you.”

Alex did the same and asked, ”We cannot accept your hospitality without return, is there any way we could help you?”

The woman shook her head and smiled, ”Of course not, you two are guests, the food will be served soon, meanwhile, you can make yourselves at home.”

Alex and Hermes obliged and soon enough, they served the dinner.

It was a huge platter of barbecued meat and fragrant rice, and the small tribe gathered around the small platter.

”Thank you for the food.” Alex and Hermes said.

The matriarch, Fatima, said, ”Eat with pleasure.”

After that, she and Yazid took the first bite and everyone followed.

Alex was really quite hungry and tasted the meat.

At first, he frowned, as he found it to be too heavily spiced and the outside too charred. However, he soon noticed that due to the hard crust that formed on the outside, the meat juices on the inside didn't escape the meat, and the cooked meat almost melted inside of his tongue.

'What a spectacular and resourceful cooking technique...' Alex remarked.

They used only primitive fire to cook the meat, yet they were able to achieve such depth of flavor.

He then moved on to the rice.

It was long-grain rice and as he took a bite of it alongside the meat, he could taste each individual cooked pearl of rice and it had a slightly spiced aroma to it that was extremely addictive when combined with the softness of the rice and the tender meat.

”How do you get the rice so fragrant?” Alex couldn't restrain his curiosity and asked.

Yazid chuckled and answered him, ”We use the leftover grease from cooking the meat to fry the rice after cooking it.”

'Ancient fried rice? So ingenious....' Alex nodded and returned to the food.

The meal was very communal, and as all of the tribe gathered around the food, they were united by the delicious dish in front of them and discussed various affairs and events.

When Alex and Hermes finished their food and were both feeling extremely full, Fatima served them dates and tea.

Alex refused but Hermes told him in Greek, ”Alexei-boy, you should be more aware of different cultures, if they present you food and you can still eat, don't refuse it because you think it's a burden on them, in fact, they will feel more satisfied if you accept the gifts and food.”

'Oh...' Alex lamented his lack of knowledge and accepted the dates and the tea.

The dates were sweet and chewy and made for a nice palate cleanser after the heavy dish.