Latest news with #BlackHawkDown
Digital Trends
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
3 action movies to watch on Memorial Day
Memorial Day is more than just an excuse to get out the grill. It's also a day designed to honor those we've lost in combat, an important hallmark of the wars America has fought over its history. In that context, we've pulled together three action movies that all focus on what it means to be a soldier in one way or another. Some of these movies are more serious than others, but each one should resonate on this particular long weekend. Recommended Videos We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+. Black Hawk Down (2001) One of the best war movies of the past 25 years, Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down follows a platoon of U.S. forces attacked by local rebels in Somalia during the early 1990s. As the soldiers on the ground face relentless fire and are forced to fight to survive, we also come to appreciate the folly of U.S. forces assuming that they can bring peace to the world. Black Hawk Down is filled with young actors who would eventually become stars, but what really makes the movie work is the fact that none of those actors are more important than the relentless pace of the story being told. You can watch Black Hawk Down on Netflix. Da 5 Bloods (2020) A brilliant examination of the Vietnam War and its aftermath, Da 5 Bloods tells the story of a group of Black veterans of that war who reunite in the country decades later to find the treasure they buried there during the conflict. As they argue about the state of modern America and discuss how they were abused by the country they call home, the men also find themselves forced to fight for their right to leave with the gold. Anchored by a remarkable central performance from Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods is one of Spike Lee's more impressive and exciting efforts of the past decade. You can watch Da 5 Bloods on Netflix. The Great Escape (1963) The Great Escape is an action movie that strikes an impressive tonal balance between comedy and drama. Set in a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp, it follows a group of imprisoned soldiers who see it as their obligation to attempt to escape from the camp. As they slowly dig a tunnel to escape, a rogue amongst them keeps trying to break out in more reckless ways. Although it might minimize some of the horror of living in a Nazi prison camp, The Great Escape is an effective, action-oriented depiction of how much soldiers can fight even after they've already been captured. You can watch The Great Escape on Amazon Prime Video.
Edinburgh Live
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Live
Trainspotting cast now from Star Wars to Line of Duty and unrecognisable huge US role
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info The revolutionary film is one of the most renowned movies to ever emerge from Scotland, making a significant impact on the cinema scene in 1996. From the memorable 'choose life' slogan to the notorious toilet cubicle scene, the antics of Mark Renton and his group of heroin addicts in Edinburgh have become cinematic legend. However, nearly three decades later, many of the cast members have achieved astronomical success. Since Trainspotting's debut almost 30 years ago, the cast have embarked on major projects. From a short-lived marriage to Angelina Jolie to a role in Harry Potter, and even a standout appearance in Star Wars, the film propelled the group into substantial Hollywood success, reports the Daily Record. Here's what has happened to the Trainspotting cast since the film's release: Mark Renton - Ewan McGregor (Image: Getty Images) The film features Ewan McGregor as the charismatic and conflicted Mark Renton, who struggles with his heroin addiction and multiple attempts at sobriety. Ewan was already a familiar face for British viewers, having starred in the Danny Boyle film Shallow Grave and Channel 4's Lipstick on Your Collar - but after Trainspotting, Ewan would achieve a whole new level of international fame. Continuing his rapid ascent, the Scottish actor landed a massive role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels and also gained an even larger following for his roles in Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge!, Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down and Disney's Winnie the Pooh reboot Christopher Robin. Daniel "Spud" Murphy - Ewan Bremner (Image: Christie Goodwin/Redferns) Ewan Bremner, the Edinburgh-native better known as Daniel "Spud" Murphy, had only a few acting gigs before his breakout Trainspotting role. He soared to fame in the early 2000s, starring alongside Ewan McGregor in Black Hawk Down and sharing the screen with Hollywood stars Ben Affleck and Kate Beckinsale in Pearl Harbour. Spud's return in Trainspotting T2 saw Ewan delivering an unforgettable performance, depicting a man still ensnared by heroin addiction. Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson - Jonny Lee Miller (Image: Daily Record) Jonny Lee Miller, who garnered attention as Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson, had already made waves with the film Hackers. His off-screen life was no less dramatic; after a whirlwind romance with Angelina Jolie, sparked on the Hackers set, the couple wed swiftly but parted ways two years later, in September 1997. Beyond the tabloids, Jonny worked with Val Kilmer in Mind Hunters, made regular appearances in the series Dexter, and portrayed Sherlock Holmes in Elementary. The Crown fans might also spot him as John Major, a characterisation the real Major quipped was "a barrel-load of nonsense". Kelly Macdonald captured hearts as Diane Coulston (Image: BBC/World Productions/ Steffan Hill) Kelly Macdonald was a mere 19 when she bagged her first role as Diane, after spotting an audition leaflet while working in a pub. Trainspotting set her on the path to a successful career, including a lead role alongside Billy Connolly as Merida in Pixar's Brave. She also earned credits in the Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men and a part in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. More recently, viewers will recognise her as DCI Joanna Davidson from the popular BBC drama Line of Duty. Begbie - Robert Carlyle (Image: PA) Robert Carlyle, known for his role as Begbie in Trainspotting, has become a familiar face on big shows such as Cobra, The War of the Worlds, and Once Upon a Time. He reunited with Danny Boyle for Trainspotting T2 and played John Lennon in Boyle's Beatles film Yesterday. Tommy - Kevin McKidd (Image: Mitch Haaseth/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Image) Kevin McKidd, who portrayed Tommy in Trainspotting and Father Deegan in a Father Ted Christmas special, is now best known for his role as Owen Hunt in Grey's Anatomy. However, he continues to work in films, appearing alongside Kelly Macdonald in Brave and as Poseidon in the Percy Jackson films.
Daily Mirror
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Trainspotting cast now and one actor who no one would recognise now in huge role
Trainspotting was a ground-breaking film that came out of Scotland and made a huge impact on the film scene when it was released in 1996, and the stars have gone on to enjoy huge success The revolutionary film is one of the most renowned flicks ever to emerge from Scotland, making waves in the cinema world back in 1996. From the unforgettable 'choose life' slogan to the notorious toilet cubicle scene, the antics of Mark Renton and his band of heroin addicts in Edinburgh have become legendary in film history. However, nearly three decades later, many of the cast members have achieved astronomical success. Since the film's debut almost 30 years ago, the cast have embarked on major projects. From a short-lived marriage to Angelina Jolie to a role in Harry Potter, and even a standout appearance in Star Wars, the film launched the group into significant Hollywood stardom, reports the Daily Record. Here's a rundown of what happened to the Trainspotting cast since the movie hit the screens: Mark Renton - Ewan McGregor The film centres around Ewan McGregor as the charismatic and conflicted Mark Renton, who battles with his heroin addiction and multiple attempts at sobriety. Ewan was already a familiar face for British viewers, having starred in the Danny Boyle film Shallow Grave and Channel 4's Lipstick on Your Collar - but post-Trainspotting, Ewan would ascend to a whole new level of international fame. Continuing his stellar rise, the Scottish actor landed a massive role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels and also garnered an even larger fan base for his performances in Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge!, Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down and Disney's Winnie the Pooh reboot Christopher Robin. Daniel "Spud" Murphy - Ewan Bremner Daniel "Spud" Murphy, portrayed by Ewan Bremner, was relatively fresh on the acting scene before his breakthrough as Spud. Post-'Trainspotting', the Edinburgh native landed roles in some of the noughties' biggest blockbusters. He teamed up with Ewan McGregor once more in 'Black Hawk Down', and shared the screen with A-listers Ben Affleck and Kate Beckinsale in the 2001 war epic 'Pearl Harbour'. Daniel returned to his iconic role in 'Trainspotting T2', delivering a memorable performance as Spud, who continues to grapple with the heroin addiction that dominates his existence. Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson - Jonny Lee Miller Jonny Lee Miller, known for his role in 'Hackers' just prior to 'Trainspotting', would find love with co-star Angelina Jolie, tying the knot after a whirlwind six-month romance. The marriage was short-lived, however, with the couple parting ways and filing for divorce in September 1997. Beyond his romantic endeavours, Jonny has worked with Val Kilmer in 'Mind Hunters' and secured recurring roles in the TV series 'Dexter' and as a modern-day Sherlock Holmes in 'Elementary'. 'The Crown' enthusiasts might also spot Jonny portraying former Prime Minister John Major, a portrayal the politician himself dubbed "a barrel-load of nonsense". Diane Coulston - Kelly Macdonald Kelly Macdonald was just 19 when she bagged her debut role as Diane, after spotting an audition flyer while working in a pub. Her breakthrough in Trainspotting paved the way for a successful career, including starring alongside Billy Connolly as the lead Merida in Pixar's Brave. She also earned roles in the Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. More recently, viewers will recognise her as DCI Joanna Davidson from the popular BBC drama Line of Duty. Begbie - Robert Carlyle After his portrayal of the tough guy in Trainspotting, Glaswegian actor Robert Carlyle has become a familiar face, featuring in major shows like Cobra, The War of the Worlds, Once Upon a Time and more. He teamed up again with Danny Boyle for Trainspotting T2 and played John Lennon in Danny Boyle's Beatles film Yesterday. Tommy - Kevin McKidd Post his role as Tommy in Trainspotting and a special appearance as Father Deegan in a Christmas episode of Father Ted, Kevin McKidd is now most recognised for his role as Owen Hunt in the medical drama Grey's Anatomy. However, he has maintained his presence in the film industry, working with Kelly Macdonald in Brave and playing Poseidon in the Percy Jackson films.
Daily Record
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Cast of Trainspotting now and two unrecognisable stars who went on to huge roles
Nearly 30 years on since Danny Boyle's classic Trainspotting, the stars went onto appear in some huge hits The ground-breaking film is one of the most famous movies ever to come out of Scotland. Moreover, it made a splash in the film scene way back in 1996. From the iconic 'choose life' mantra to the infamous toilet cubicle scene, the shenanigans of Mark Renton and the group of heroin addicts in Edinburgh have gone down in cinema history. But nearly 30 years on, many of the cast have found astronomic success. Since the film's release nearly 30 years ago, the cast have moved to big projects. From a brief marriage to Angelina Jolie to a role in Harry Potter, and even a standout feature in Star Wars, the film catapulted the group into significant Hollywood success. Here's everything that happened to the cast of Trainspotting since the movie's release: Mark Renton - Ewan McGregor The film follows Ewan McGregor as the charismatic and conflicted Mark Renton as he grapples with his heroin addiction and multiple attempts to become sober. Ewan was already a well-known face for British audiences, having appeared in the Danny Boyle film Shallow Grave as well as a role on Channel 4 's Lipstick on Your Collar - but after Trainspotting, Ewan would reach a whole new level of fame on the global stage. Carrying on his meteoric rise, the Scottish actor bagged a huge part as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels but also gained even more of a following for his role in Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge!, Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down and Disney's Winnie the Pooh reboot Christopher Robin. Daniel "Spud" Murphy - Ewan Bremner Having just picked up a handful of acting credits before his breakout role as Spud, the Edinburgh-born actor went on to appear in some of the early 2000s' biggest hits. He again appeared alongside Ewan McGregor in Black Hawk Down, but also worked alongside mega stars Ben Affleck and Kate Beckinsale in 2001's Pearl Harbour. He came back to reprise his role in a standout performance in Trainspotting T2 with the character still battling with the heroin addiction that seemingly still controls his life. Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson - Jonny Lee Miller Having starred in the film Hackers the year before the release of Trainspotting, Jonny Lee Miller would strike up a romance with co-star Angelina Jolie, becoming married after just six months of dating. However, after just two years, the pair split, filing for divorce in September 1997. Outside his personal life, Jonny starred alongside Val Kilmer in Mind Hunters, and also picked up regular parts in drama series Dexter as well as playing a version of Sherlock Holmes in the show Elementary. Fans of the Netflix show The Crown may also recognise Jonny in his role playing former Prime Minister John Major, a role that the man himself described as 'a barrel-load of nonsense'. Diane Coulston - Kelly Macdonald Kelly Macdonald was just 19 years old when she landed her first role as Diane, going for an audition after spotting a leaflet advertising the part while she was working in a bar. Trainspotting would set herself up with a solid career, appearing alongside Billy Connolly as the lead Merida in Pixar's Brave. She also picked up credits in the Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men and a role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. More recently, fans may recognise her as DCI Joanna Davidson in the hit BBC drama Line of Duty. Begbie - Robert Carlyle Featuring in big shows Cobra, The War of the Worlds, Once Upon a Time and more, the Glaswegian has become a familiar face to many after his role as the hardman in Trainspotting. He reunited with Danny Boyle for Trainspotting T2 as well as a role as John Lennon in his Beatles film Yesterday. Tommy - Kevin McKidd After playing Tommy in Trainspotting and a special role as Father Deegan in a Christmas special of Father Ted, Kevin McKidd is now probably best known for his role as Owen Hunt in the medical drama Grey's Anatomy. However, he has continued his work in the film world, working alongside Kelly Macdonald in Brave and as Poseidon in the Percy Jackson films.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
Women Who Travel Podcast: Hawa Hassan's Recipes from Somalia, Egypt, Lebanon, and More
All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by Condé Nast Traveler editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, Condé Nast may earn an affiliate commission. You can listen to our podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify each week. Follow this link if you're listening on Apple News. In Hawa Hassan's second cookbook, the chef and author explores the recipes and stories born out of displacement, and the sense of community and resilience that can be found through food. Lale chats with her about the travels and research behind the book, which took her to The Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, and Lebanon, among others, as well as how her own path from Somalia to the US informed her personal food journey. Lale Arikoglu: Hi there, I'm Lale Arikoglu, and today I'm talking to chef and author Hawa Hassan about her groundbreaking book Setting a Place for Us. Its subtitle explains its radical scope, recipes and stories of displacement, resilience, and community from eight countries impacted by war. Hawa and her family fled the Somalian Civil War. A few years later, she was sent to friends in America and was separated from her mother and siblings who moved to Oslo. The stories of the people she meets in her book often mirror that of her own life. Hawa Hassan: I migrated to the U.S. in 1993, November of 1993. My mother and family never made it to America. Till today, my family has never been to America. I only have one little brother who's born in Norway that's come to New York, and he came in 2018 just as he was getting out of high school. But my family has lived in Somalia, Kenya, and then Oslo. LA: Moving in 1993 means that you were very young when you moved. HH: Yeah. The first two years of living in America, because I assumed my family was still coming and that was the game plan. I went as a part of a team of six people. At the time, it was my five siblings and my mom. So I was like, "Okay, the rest of my teammates are coming. They're just waiting for sponsorship to the U.S.," which never came because Black Hawk Down happened and the Clinton administration had shut it down at the time. And in hindsight, I don't think there's a better place than Oslo that my family could have ended up in for so many different reasons. So for the first two years, I was still very much a Somali child. I was still trying to cook. I was still trying to clean with the people that I was living with because I wanted to be an active participant of the group that I was living with. LA: What were you cooking? HH: Well, there was an older person in the house, a woman. She did all the cooking, but I did all the cleaning and the chopping those first two years. LA: You were sous chef? HH: I was sous chef. I didn't know I was a little chef in the making, okay? But I had already been a sous chef with my mom and my brother, and so this was just a different version of it. But after those first two years passed and I realized no one was coming, honey, I was eating hot dogs, Doritos, pizza, gas station food was my survival tool. LA: When you say survival tool, what do you mean? HH: It was what fueled me. I would have me a little something in the morning before school and then after school I would walk right over to Mr. Henry's gas station. I would go right over there and he knew Hawa wants a hot link. Don't make Hawa's bread too thick, cut the crust off for her. LA: Remind me where in the US you were. HH: I grew up in Seattle, Washington. LA: Was there a Somalian community there? Where you were aware of one? HH: So when I arrived in Seattle, it wasn't only my arrival, it was the Cambodians, it was the Russians, it was the Vietnamese, the Eritreans, the Ethiopians, the Sudanese, and Somalis. My elementary school was so diverse. I've always had, whether it be the Somalis or others, there's always been a diversity around me just because of the time that I came to the U.S. LA: Did your family that was in Oslo and your mother, did they have the same or... HH: Yeah, well, kind of and not. When they migrated to Norway, they were some of the very first immigrants, and so there wasn't a huge Somali population. And I don't know why this happens. When migration happens, oftentimes governments place you in the middle of the center, in the city center, and so my family grew up in an area called Gronland, which is downtown Oslo. But downtown Oslo, if you just walk, it's full of Somalis now. Yeah, so they now have a very healthy community. LA: It sounds like for your family, Oslo is a haven of sorts, or at least feels like home. HH: Totally. Yeah, totally. I mean, my siblings, they're Norwegian kids. They fight in Norwegian. They have grown up there. Some of them were born there. They've been schooled there. Some of them are married to Norwegians. The last time I was in Somalia was 1991. My father still lives there, and my older brother goes every year. My little sister goes. She's taking her kids to go see him. But there were a few of us that hadn't seen him since I left Kenya, and so I took everybody to Turkey, to Istanbul because it was the only place that my father can get, we can get him to get a visa. LA: Which is interesting because there are other people I know who have family. I'm thinking of a friend whose family in Iran and Istanbul is the meetings point. HH: Oh. LA: And I think that happens for a lot of diaspora communities- HH: Totally. LA: ... which are all trying to come together in a place, and Istanbul seems to be that city. HH: Absolutely. I mean, we knew it would be easy to apply at the embassy in Somalia. It would be familiar for my dad because people speak Arabic, he's Muslim. So all of us went and we had a family reunion for 18 days. It was really nice. LA: Back in 2020, I sat down with Hawa to chat about her first book, In Bibi's Kitchen, which won the James Beard International Cookbook Award. Then, she shared food traditions of African countries bordering the Indian Ocean. But this book also covers Asia and Central America. The eight countries Hawa talks about are usually featured in the media as being in a state of disarray or in crisis. But here she focuses on community spirit and the power of food to bring people together. HH: I visited the Democratic Republic of Congo, El Salvador, Lebanon, and Liberia. And then the other four countries that I did intense research and hired other people to help research were Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, and Egypt. LA: You list off those countries, and at first listen, you might think that's quite like a sort of disparate list of places. But there's a through line and a thread that stitches them all together and is why you chose them. What is that thread? HH: Yeah, so I wanted to examine countries that there was conflict and instability. There was refugee and migration, humanitarian crisis, and then historical and cultural significance. Some of these countries are the oldest civilization on earth. I wanted to talk about that because oftentimes when we hear about these places, even though the through line of this book is a part of my story, which is civil unrest, and I wanted to examine that for my own reasons and also for the purpose of saying, "Hey, here's another way to look at these people." And so this book, there's no sad stories in it, and I say that about my own life. I have no sad stories to tell. LA: And that there isn't this sort of two-dimensional view of what a person from X country is like or if they choose to leave, what their life as a displaced person could be. HH: Correct. Because the desires are the same no matter where we are. We're a lot more alike than different. LA: Could you tell me a little bit more about how you were weaving your own personal story into the book, or at least how it was driving the book? HH: Yeah, so originally when I started thinking about food in 2014, I was so curious about my own personal story and I wanted to confront so much the otherness of my own life. When you've been separated from your family or from your homeland, there's a desire to return always in hopes of finding yourself or finding out new information, like, "I want to discover more of who I am," and that's what this book was for me. That's what all my work is. In Bibi's Kitchen was a selfish project. I wanted to preserve those stories. I wanted to make Africa accessible. I wanted to talk about the Indian Ocean from an African's perspective. This book is the same. I want to talk about displacement from a displaced person's perspective. It's not all sad and gloom. It's not doom and gloom. LA: When you were choosing these countries, did you have some sort of criteria that you were looking for, or was it literally just kind of looking at a big old map and thinking, "These are the places that fascinate me."? Or were there kind of certain political or cultural moments or touchstones that you were keeping an eye out for? HH: The main things that I wanted to examine were historical and cultural significance, migration, conflict, and I also wanted to examine it from the perspective of... Somalia has been in constant conflict almost for as long as I've been born. And some of the countries in this book also have been in prolonged conflict. And some of them have been in conflict and are kind of out of it now, but they're still residue of some of those old feelings. And so I just wanted to see the similarities of the places and I wanted to tell a different story about what it meant to be from those places. Displacement can also come at the cost of climate change. And so even though in this book I talk about 177 million people across the world, the people that you speak to on the ground do often talk about the lack of rain or too much rain. I'm no climate expert, but the shifting of crop season and things like that, because ultimately you fill it across the board. And when there's conflict within a country's borders, movement of food isn't the same as it is in our world. I think things change and people are much more mindful and they're not as wasteful as we are here. And I hope that also comes across in the book. LA: There are four countries that you visit physically in the book. Tell me a little bit kind of about what you were searching for in each one. HH: Yeah. So El Salvador, I went to in February 2020, right before the world shut down. I went with my photographer and I'd already had my friends in El Salvador, so it was simple. And El Salvadorians are such kind people, loving people, welcoming people, and so it's a easy place to feel at home. And I was on the beach the whole time, and so it was lovely. LA: A challenging but empowering visit to Kinshasa coming up. I'm here with Hawa Hassan on Women Who Travel. HH: The next place I went to was the Democratic Republic of Congo. I went to Kinshasa. And I say that in the intro to Kinshasa, or going there, the travel for it was chaotic, and it feels like an ongoing shell game where at every turn you're meeting a cast of new hustlers and you are the target. So Congo taught me so much, and to my Congolese brothers and sisters, I take my hat off to you because I just cannot. They are such resilient people, and they dance and they dress so incredibly and they're so joyful, but they don't suffer any fools. LA: Often when I am reporting for Condé Nast Traveler and I sort of arrive in a place, sometimes I'll connect with it right away and be like, "I gel with this place. I get it." I know how to find my way around it, or it's like something just clicks. And then there are others that are a little harder to understand at first and you have to work a little harder to make sense of it. HH: I didn't get Kinshasa. I didn't understand the movement of the American dollar before I got there, at the speed in which it moves, I should say. LA: Wait, explain that a little bit more. HH: So they basically, well, at least with me and my experience, everything was done in U.S. dollars. So something that could cost you a cab ride that should be $30 would be $200. LA: Wow. HH: And it was like, "There's no question about it, pay the 200 or get out." So there was a lot of things I didn't understand in Kinsasha, but I spoke to somebody else who'd gone there and she was like, "Oh, it's probably because you look different." But she's right. You're talking about a country that right now is on the brink of breaking because of their next door neighbors in Rwanda. And so I am East African. I do look Rwandese. And so there was some of that flare up when I was there. And some of those stories I won't go into because they don't serve me or the people that I met, but there was that unspoken tension and you had to be aware and move accordingly. LA: I want to hear a bit more about this trip because so far we've talked about how it was... It does sound like it was challenging and probably quite exhausting, but clearly it was a success because you have recipes and stories in the book. HH: Yeah. LA: What were some of the outstanding moments of being... HH: Oh, man. I met a young woman named Natalia that owned a restaurant called Bantu. She had been a student in Cape Town and had been craving home and returned home to build from the ground up. She was a successful entrepreneur. Her restaurant was so stunning. I met a woman named Lina and her husband. LA: Wait, can you describe the restaurant to me a little bit? HH: Yeah. It actually just looks like a cafe out of Soho, but it had African baskets that she had weaved across the walls and it had all these plants. And Natalia was beautiful and young and just bright and she wanted to be a part of the rebuilding of the Democratic Republic of Congo. And she and a lot of young people like herself had become entrepreneurs during COVID, which was so interesting to learn. I also met another woman named Emily, who was the beignet lady. She had been living in Belgium and returned home also. And she started online and it caught wildfire and everybody goes to her home to get their beignets. And she was contemplating about opening up a brick and mortar. And so there was so much hope. LA: Can you describe to me just kind of what it's like to walk around there a little bit? Sights, sounds, just kind of like the vibe just to kind of bring a picture into people's heads. HH: Lots of moving cars, bustling markets, lots of motorcycles, bunch of people talking over one another. I mean, imagine a busy market and that being the streets. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. LA: What kind of fruit? HH: Lots of mangoes and oranges and papayas and watermelons and things like that. When I went, it was in June, so there were a lot of fruits more than there was anything. A lot of fruit stands. LA: Is there a dish from there that you now cook regularly or that you think of regularly? HH: Yeah, there's a skewered goat dish that you can actually buy on the street and is very popular in the DRC. But that's like a quick snack, a quick delicious meal. It's incredibly well-seasoned. And that was something that I really enjoyed while we were there. LA: And you just grab and go down the street with some goat on your skewer. HH: With a newspaper. Yeah. LA: Delicious. HH: And then the next place we went to was Morovia, the capital of Liberia. And I'd known some friends there. So Liberia felt like a reprieve. It felt like joy. It felt like a vacation. Morovia can almost feel like a beach town because it's on the ocean. I had sushi every night. I was staying in an incredible hotel where everybody was just so welcoming. And then we went to Lebanon after that. We went to Beirut and then went all over Lebanon for 10 days. And again, same thing in Beirut, just kindness and open doors and so much food and conversation and joy. I feel very grateful because every place offered a new way of seeing things. LA: After the break, what these very different food traditions have in common. You're back with women Who Travel. Okay, moving on, we've got to talk about the recipes. HH: Okay. LA: I think of there's so many commonalities between different recipes or foods around the world. What were some of the kind of recurring things that you found in these recipes that are from all these different places with different stories? HH: One thing that I saw everywhere is that people's usage of dates. LA: Oh. HH: I thought that was really nice. Some people were drinking date tea, some people were making date soup, some people were making date cookies. There's a date cookie recipe in the book. I also loved people's capacity to eat sweet and savory together, which for me, I do because we're Somalis. LA: Did you walk away from that thinking, "I want to bring some of this back into my own cooking in my own life." Or did it feel like when you come back from vacation and you're like, "I'm going to change everything," and then you get back and it's just immediately everything's the same? HH: Yeah, I did. I mean, as soon as I was done with the book, I made a lot of stews, which was, I mean, my husband once said to me, he's like, "What is it with you and these stews?" LA: And you're like, "I'm slowing down." HH: Yeah. He didn't understand that. God bless his heart. But I did come back and I was cooking a lot slower. LA: Were there any foods that you tried that you were surprised that they reminded you of Somali food? I think sometimes it's like you can have a cuisine that seems so different to your own, and then you suddenly are like, "That flavor or that method of preparation reminds me of this dish and I would've never have expected it." HH: Oh, totally. A lot of the food. There's a seven spice in both the Iraq and the Lebanon chapter. That spice is very similar to Hawaij, which is a Somali spice, which is the bedrock of most of our cooking. And so that centered me home often. And then the other thing was is that in a lot of these countries, people have fruit on the side with all their food. And in Somalia, that's something that we do. Fruit is a part of your meal. And so that always made me feel like I was at my mom's table. LA: You started this book five years ago, but does it feel even more timely than when you started it? HH: Yeah. I mean, I think just like In Bibi's Kitchen. In Bibi's Kitchen, I started it because I was looking for community and I was looking for those stories. And then it came out in COVID when everybody was at home and thinking about community and how to sustain it and how to make it and how to be better at it. And we're in a different phase now, but we're still trying to answer questions. How do I be a human in the world today? How do I be kinder to more people? How do I talk about USAID if I don't know enough about who USAID serves? And I hope these are questions people are asking themselves. Don't be distracted by the splashy headlines. Pay attention to the details. Who is USAID serving? What diet are people in Somalia eating during drought season, effectively climate refugees very soon? LA: Well, and I was going to say, what can we learn from that level of resourcefulness? HH: Yep. Because guess what? We're not immune to it. I hope that this book is a gateway into answering some questions, but I hope it's a pamphlet that allows people to go on a deeper search for themselves. LA: I'm going to ask you the impossible question, which is if there's one meal that you could take from this book and make over and over again? HH: Yeah. There's actually, and we both love it at home, and it's so simple. There's this beef and rice and pepper, stuffed pepper recipe in the book that is so delicious and so simple. It's just onions, beef, parsley, and uncooked rice all together. And then you make everything on top of the stove, and then you bake it for a while. You bake it for I think 25 minutes or 28 minutes. And it's so delicious. And I make it all the time and it's so healthy. So that's boring to say, but that's what I would make all the time because it's not time-consuming and I love it. LA: And my mouth is watering just hearing about it. HH: Oh, good. LA: If there's kind of a takeaway you want people to have when they close this book and they put it back on their kitchen shelves or they pull it down and they're in search of something, what is it? HH: That single-origin stories are not true and that people in the world at large are all living differently, but we're innately very similar. LA: Why don't we talk about... The one thing we haven't talked about that much is you mentioned your photographer, so I'm going to just get you to say something about that. HH: Yeah. LA: I'm flipping through the book right now, and there's so many beautiful stories and recipes, but also the imagery is gorgeous, from the food and the people and the kind of scenery from these places. What was the kind of vision between you and your photographer as to how to capture these places? HH: I wanted to work with actually a dear friend, Riley Dingler, who is a college mate of my husband. They met at Boulder in Colorado. And Riley is a photographer and a videographer, but for commercial businesses. And I think one of the things about my vision was, "Let's shoot this in the most beautiful light to showcase the people, the food, and the place." He's blonde hair, blue-eyed and like 6'2". So he was not blending in most places. But his spirit did, and people loved him everywhere we went and people were excited to meet him. But he got the most incredible shots because you didn't even know he was there. Just same as me, I was enthralled in the interviews and in the conversations, and there weren't phones and there weren't a lot of distractions, and Riley was similar to that. His energy was of that. And that comes across in the book. Yeah, that photo actually with me and Emily. LA: Tell me which photo we're looking at and describe it a little bit. HH: You're looking at a photo of Emily. I think she's telling me about the herbs that she's growing in her garden. This is the beignet lady that I was telling you about. We're sitting in her courtyard and I'm facing her, and she is speaking with her hands and telling me about what she's growing in this season. LA: You're deep in conversation in this photo. HH: Totally. LA: And then there is a beautiful picture- HH: Of her beignets. LA: ... of her beignets. HH: Those are beignets that she made for us. So Riley just took a photo of them. LA: And also, because they're on some sort of blue table, where were you eating them? HH: In her courtyard. We were just picking them up and eating them in her courtyard. LA: Freshly baked. Amazing. HH: Yeah. LA: And I think that is a lovely note to end on. HH: Thank you so much. LA: Thank you for listening to Women Who Travel. I'm Lale Arikoglu and you can find me on Instagram @lalehannah. Our engineer is Pran Bandi. And special thanks to Jake Lummus for engineering support. Our show is mixed by Amar Lal at Macro Sound. Jude Kampfner is our producer, Stephanie Kariuki, our executive producer, and Chris Bannon is head of Condé Nast Global Audio. Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler The Latest Travel News and Advice Want to be the first to know? Sign up to our newsletters for travel inspiration and tips Stop Counting the Countries You Visit How Safe Is Flying Today? 5 Things Experts Want Travelers to Know The Best Places to See the Northern Lights Worldwide
