Since Syrians took to the streets in March 2011 to demand reform, news from Syria can be boiled down to montages of people angry, bloodied and afraid; bearded young men in military fatigues dodging behind crumbled buildings; the ominous black flags of the so-called Islamic State; children pulled from the rubble of bombed out buildings; masses of people crossing borders into neighboring countries or being saved from the sea. That’s all the world knows about Syria. And while those images are real life for many Syrians, it shouldn’t define them. Food, however, does. It’s the lifeline of Syrian culture, easily defined by almost boundless generosity, as can be witnessed in the mounds of food piled high for any given guest. For Syrians, a friendship isn’t truly established until “bread and salt” are shared.

Our day begins where Tbilisi got its start millennia ago, by the natural hot springs in the oldest part of the city. Here, a mosque, synagogue and Georgian Orthodox cathedral provide a panorama that tells much about the city’s diversity and its history as an important center of trade and culture and a key stop along the ancient Silk Road. Tbilisi’s strategic location made it a desirable place to occupy, and there’s no shortage of conquerors that passed through: Romans, Byzantines, Mongols, Khazars, Arabs, Persians, Ottomans, Russians and, finally, the Soviets.

Editor's Note: We’ve worked together with Brooklyn-based graphic designer Jeff Yas to create distinctive icons for all the cities we work in. We recently spoke with Jeff about the creative process behind creating these edible visuals:

At first glance, the Gràcia district of Barcelona appears to be the gatekeeper of the resurgent Catalan identity: “Free Catalonia!” graffiti scrawled in the backstreets, Catalan flags flying from so many balconies, the distinct sound of the Catalan language heard in cafés and eateries.

A bodega can be a corner store or a corner bar, or sometimes even a wine cellar with a small kitchen serving refined riffs on traditional Spanish foods. In Barcelona, a bodega is all of these, but most of all it is the beating heart of the neighborhood.

Our favorite Istanbul experiences include exploring the eateries in local markets and crossing the Bosphorus on the public ferry. The “Two Markets, Two Continents” route draws from our best-of list in the European side’s Karaköy neighborhood and the Asian side’s Kadıköy, tied together by a Bosphorus crossing.

Istanbul’s Bazaar Quarter is one of the world’s biggest open-air commercial centers, crowned by the planet’s largest covered market, the Grand Bazaar. It is not only a sprawling marketplace specializing in everything from knitting yarn to knockoff purses, but a historic center of small craftsmen who still carry on their tradition in the atmospheric caravanserais — Ottoman-era trading posts — that dot this area.

The Bosphorus Strait, which divides the city of Istanbul and separates the European and Asian continents, has never failed to inspire; from Emperor Constantine to Mark Twain, its charms are well noted. On its shores are palaces but also neighborhoods – from bustling marketplaces to multicultural fishing villages – all connected by the Bosphorus yet each a world unto itself. This is something that, despite Istanbul’s explosive growth, lives on today.

QUICK BITE: Spend the day eating your way through Sants, a lesser-explored neighborhood with a booming local food scene and an interesting history. We’ll dig into markets and old vermuteria, pastry shops and down home restaurants, but we’ll also find the pulse of Sants in some contemporary culinary projects.

When the sun goes down, the woks fire up along the streets of Shanghai’s night markets. See for yourself why no one can resist the temptations of the city’s diverse after dark delicacies. On this tour, we’ll head to two of the city’s liveliest night markets.

Our “Culinary Secrets of the Old City” walk goes beyond the major monuments and into the backstreets where all of the serious eating is done. We’ll set off through the atmospheric, lesser-explored market streets around the Egyptian Spice Market and then go deeper into the untouristed Fatih neighborhood.

Until recently, Greek, Armenian and Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) were the languages spoken in most kitchens in Istanbul’s historic district of Beyoğlu. Though the old cosmopolitans who populated the belle époque apartment buildings of Istanbul’s “European Quarter” have largely been replaced by a vibrant blend of rural Anatolians and global bohemians, hidden traces of these unique cultures remain, creating a very unique dining culture – at once rough and refined.

From downtown Athens, one’s eyes rest on the timeless vision of the Acropolis up on the hill, looming grandly above this ancient Greek city. But in the bustling market streets below, another classic, though less well-known, Athens exists. Here, people line up for a proper souvlaki done in the style of N

The story of how Queens transformed into a microcosm of the world’s cuisines is just as fascinating and important as those of the cuisines’ creators. The borough is one of the most diverse places on the planet, with over 120 countries represented and 135 languages officially spoken in the public school system. The cause? The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.

Our original dumplings tour, with a cooking class! For more than 2,000 years, Chinese chefs and home cooks have been perfecting dumplings in all their delicious bite-sized forms. Carried abroad by Silk Road travelers over the centuries, dumplings are popular around the world, but nothing tops the original!