Tasting Peace

The communities of Lebanon unite at a farmers’ market

By Peter Grunert and recently spent a long weekend in Beirut

In the shimmering heat of a late summer’s day, simple delicates are on sale at the Souk el Tayeb: green almonds, mulberries, thyme-infused honey, and pastries filled with peppers and tomatoes ripened by the fierce eastern Mediterranean sun. 

Christina Codsi is the guiding force behind Beirut’s first farmers’ market. “Try a peach,” she suggests, leaning over for one between flatbreads roasting over hot coals and crows of gnarly wooden lemon squeezers. ‘Have you ever tasted flavor so intense?’

The weekly market aims to give the farmers who staff it a fair chance of selling their produce at a price that means they no longer feel pushed to abandon their lands and permanently migrate to the city; a visit every Saturday is enough. ‘We often have 60 stalls set up here,’ says Christina. ‘Each of the diverse  the market, sharing a goal.

‘The farmers enjoy campaigning,’she adds, reciting their favourite slogans: ‘Seeds for Peace’ and ‘Make Food Not War’, soukeltayebn.com