Cuisine
Although people in Homs eat the same foods common in Levantine cuisine, the city is well known throughout Syria for its own cuisine. A prominent dish is Batarsh, a type of baba ghanouj made with yogurt and garlic instead of tahini. Homs is also home to a variety of kibbeh mishwiyyeh or "grilled kibbeh". It consists of two pancakes of kibbeh stuffed with ground lamb, cooked with lamb fat and various spices. Batata mahshi ("stuffed potatoes") is native dish in Homs and is made of baby potatoes stuffed with ground lamb, pine nuts, and pomegranate molasses. The city specializes in cooking a type of okra meal, known as bamya bi-l zayt ("okra with olive oil").
Homs has an array of restaurants, some of the most highly acclaimed are those within the Safir Hotel: Mamma Mia and Mersia. The former specializes in Italian cuisine, while the latter serves Arabic food. For the local population, popular restaurants include Prince Restaurant which acts as a type of fast-food place, serving shawarma, grilled chicken, and other common Syrian foods, as well as homemade juices. In the Old City, low-price restaurants are grouped together along Shoukri al-Quwatly Street and sell similar foods, such as hummus, falafel, various salads (mezze), kebabs and chicken dishes. Restaurants and coffeehouses typically offer hookahs and are a common place for men to gather and smoke.
Like counterparts in Damascus and Aleppo, many houses in the Old City of Homs have been renovated and turned into restaurants specializing in Levantine cuisine. Most notable of these is Beit al-Agha restaurant, situated in a renovated palace that dates back to the mid 19th-century with Ottoman and Mamluke architecture, and Julia Dumna Restaurant, which has been described as the best example of traditional Homsi houses, with its white and black stones.
Museums
There are two main museums in Homs, both located in the central part of the city. Azze Hrawe Palace, a
