Mediterranean BasinIn biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (ˌmɛdɪtəˈreɪniən ), also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea, is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and warm to hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation. The Mediterranean Basin covers portions of three continents: Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Arab cuisineArab cuisine (المطبخ العربي) is the cuisine of the Arab world, defined as the various regional cuisines of the Arab people, spanning from the Maghreb to the Fertile Crescent and the Arabian Peninsula. These cuisines are centuries old and reflect the culture of trading in ingredients, spices, herbs, and commodities. The regions have many similarities, but also unique traditions. They have also been influenced by climate, cultivation, and mutual commerce.
TurkeyTurkey (Türkiye, ˈtyɾcije), officially the Republic of Türkiye (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti ˈtyɾcije dʒumˈhuːɾijeti), is a country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in West Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east; Iraq to the southeast; Syria and the Mediterranean Sea to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest. Cyprus is off the south coast.
Arab Agricultural RevolutionThe Arab Agricultural Revolution was the transformation in agriculture in the Old World during the Islamic Golden Age (8th to 13th centuries). The agronomic literature of the time, with major books by Ibn Bassal and Abū l-Khayr al-Ishbīlī, demonstrates the extensive diffusion of useful plants to Medieval Spain (al-Andalus), and the growth in Islamic scientific knowledge of agriculture and horticulture. Medieval Arab historians and geographers described al-Andalus as a fertile and prosperous region with abundant water, full of fruit from trees such as the olive and pomegranate.
Croatian cuisineCroatian cuisine is heterogeneous and is known as a cuisine of the regions, since every region of Croatia has its own distinct culinary tradition. Its roots date back to ancient times. The differences in the selection of foodstuffs and forms of cooking are most notable between those in mainland and those in coastal regions. Mainland cuisine is more characterized by the earlier Slavic and the more recent contacts with Hungarian and Turkish cuisine, using lard for cooking, and spices such as black pepper, paprika, and garlic.
GibraltarGibraltar (dʒᵻˈbrɔːltər , xiβɾalˈtaɾ) is a British Overseas Territory and city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. It has an area of and is bordered to the north by Spain (Campo de Gibraltar). The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, at the foot of which is a densely populated town area, home to some 32,688 people (2022 estimate), primarily Gibraltarians. In 1704, Anglo-Dutch forces captured Gibraltar from Spain during the War of the Spanish Succession.
Egyptian cuisineEgyptian cuisine makes heavy use of poultry, legumes, vegetables and fruit from Egypt's rich Nile Valley and Delta. Examples of Egyptian dishes include rice-stuffed vegetables and grape leaves, hummus, falafel, shawarma, kebab and kofta. ful medames, mashed fava beans; koshary, lentils and pasta; and molokhiya, bush okra stew. A local type of pita bread known as eish baladi (Egyptian Arabic: عيش بلدي) is a staple of Egyptian cuisine, and cheesemaking in Egypt dates back to the First Dynasty of Egypt, with Domiati being the most popular type of cheese consumed today.
Portuguese cuisineThe oldest known book on Portuguese cuisine (Cozinha portuguesa), entitled Livro de Cozinha da Infanta D. Maria de Portugal, from the 16th century, describes many popular dishes of meat, fish, poultry and others. Culinária Portuguesa, by António-Maria De Oliveira Bello, better known as Olleboma, was published in 1936. Despite being relatively restricted to an Atlantic, Celtic sustenance, the Portuguese cuisine also has strong French and Mediterranean influences.
Mediterranean dietThe Mediterranean diet is a diet inspired by the eating habits and traditional food typical of southern Spain, southern Italy, and Crete, and formulated in the early 1960s. It is distinct from Mediterranean cuisine, which covers the actual cuisines of the Mediterranean countries. While inspired by a specific time and place, the "Mediterranean diet" was later refined based on the results of multiple scientific studies.
BasilBasil (ˈbæzəl, alsoUSˈbeɪzəl; Ocimum basilicum ˈɒsɪməm_bəˈzɪlɪkəm), also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also known as sweet basil or Genovese basil. Basil is native to tropical regions from Central Africa to Southeast Asia. In temperate climates basil is treated as an annual plant, however, basil can be grown as a short-lived perennial or biennial in warmer horticultural zones with tropical or Mediterranean climates.
