Our lives would be very narrow indeed if we did not absorb aspects from other cultures and add them to our own. Food is an extremely good example. Take away everything that came from the New World and we would not have potatoes (from Peru), tomatoes, peppers, chilies, aubergines, maize... Alexander the Great was responsible for introducing citrus fruits and peaches to the Mediterranean. Imagine Italian cuisine without tomatoes, a Greek courtyard without a lemon tree...