15 Signs You're in an Arab Home
BY: Nisreen Eadeh/Staff Writer
Arab homes have special qualities that make them fun to visit for anyone outside the culture. There are cultural artifacts, religious symbols, and particularly placed foods that all go into making a home look and feel Arab.
If you’re ever unsure of whether or not you’re visiting an Arab, here are 15 sure signs that you’re in an Arab’s home.
1. There’s an extra freezer in the garage or basement that’s just filled with meat
Arabs love meat and saving money, so they buy their meat in bulk and store it a second freezer kept in the basement or garage. Occasionally, fish or vegetables might show up in the legendary second freezer – that is if there’s not already a full lamb taking up all of the shelf space!
2. There are at least three camel statues
Nothing screams “I love my homeland!!!” more than a heard of figurine camels standing over the fireplace.
3. There’s a “God Bless our Home” sign
Somewhere in the house, either over the front door or above a walkway, there is a sign in English or Arabic that reads: God bless our home. Even if you’re not religious, it is seen as odd to not have this sign hanging in the home.
4. There are mint leaves or parsley drying out on a towel in the kitchen
No, those green leaves trying out all over the kitchen aren’t drugs, they’re mint leaves or parsley. Again, Arabs are money savers! Instead of buying dried mint or parsley, they’d rather dry pick the leaves and dry them out on the counter themselves for three days.
5. There’s an entire second kitchen in the basement
If you haven’t seen a basement kitchen, you haven’t been to an Arab house. The basement is the coolest place in a house and therefore the only place teta will cook.
6. There’s furniture covered in plastic
You know ur in a Arab household when all the furniture is wrapped in plastic.
— Rami (@RamiOdehboy) February 5, 2013
Every Arab house has an impeccably clean room that cannot be touched. It is reserved for the most important guests imaginable, but very few people make the cut. Those who are invited into the clean room usually sit on furniture covered in plastic because germs and dirt are the enemies.
7. There’s an evil eye by the door
The evil eye keeps out bad spirits and envy. Arabs are terribly superstitions, but the evil eye lets everyone know that jealousy is not welcome in this house.
8. There’s a purely decorative hookah set
My family would have a hookah as decoration in the living room lmaooo pic.twitter.com/CqzqRB96lp
— hiba (@hibs_dont_lie) December 24, 2014
There are just as many Arabs refusing to smoke hookah as there are indulging in the water pipe. The decorative hookah sits in the room as a beautiful cultural artifact and nothing more.
9. There’s a hookah that’s okay to smoke
Usually, right next to the decorative hookah is a shabbier set that’s okay to use by family and guests who can’t resist that double apple flavor.
10. There’s a tableh that no one knows how to play
Sure, every Arab kid grows up smacking the tableh to hear the fun sound it makes, but for the most part, the tableh is there as an accessory to the camel herd and not much more.
11. There are doilies EVERYWHERE
#arabproblems pic.twitter.com/9nir7f7L92
— RabihربيعAwad☦️✝️ (@MR_Spring10) December 2, 2016
You are most definitely not in an Arab home if there aren’t doilies on every surface that could possibly hold a doily. Many Arab women make the doilies themselves and are passed on through the generations, so don’t you dare spill your diet Coke on a doily.
12. There’s 5-year-old Arak in the closet
Every time Arab families go “back home,” they pick up a few bottles of arak, but no one likes arak enough to drink it regularly. So, the bottles just pile up and collect dust until Thanksgiving when jiddo has one glass.
13. There’s bizzer and nuts in the freezer
No, it is not weird to eat super cold bizzer and nuts. It’s actually better than eating them at room temperature.
14. There’s a super ornate coffee set you’re afraid to touch, but have to because Arabs are 94% coffee
When I tell an Arab I don’t drink coffee pic.twitter.com/q3lDcrRIQi
— Sαrα (@SaraaHadidi) November 5, 2016
If you’re in an Arab home, you will be served coffee at some point in a tiny coffee cup that could easily be mistaken for a colorful shot glass. Don’t make that mistake. Sip slowly and don’t make any sudden movements with the cup in hand!
15. There’s a drawer full of lemons in the fridge
Oh boy, do Arabs love their lemons. At least one drawer in the fridge is home to 15 lemons, all of which will be used in 4 days or less. No Arab home is complete without the citrusy sting of fresh lemon juice in your paper cuts.