[Sca-cooks] Middle Eastern Food

[Terry Decker]

>>and Afghanistan and Pakistan get added.
>
> Yeah, well... Afghanistan makes sense, since it was an important center of 
> Persian culture and arts as part of the Persian Empire. Herat, for 
> example, was home to a particularly important school of Persian miniature 
> painting.
>
> Pakistan... well, its relationship is less clear. It might be better 
> connected to Muslim Mughal India, which is strongly Persian influenced, 
> but also strongly influenced by local South Asian non-Muslim cultures.
> -- 
> Urtatim [that's err-tah-TEEM]
> the persona formerly known as Anahita

I think Pakistan gets added to the Middle East culturally because Iran 
conquered Afghanistan under the Timurids (losing it in the early 18th 
Century).  Babur, who was the last of the Timurids, invaded Northern India 
from Afghanistan and founded the Mughal dynasty.  The direct cultural 
influence in Pakistan is from Persia.

Bear