Arabic Bread: an important part of culture

© 2010 jeffreyw, Flicker from Wylio.com

Arabic bread is more than just a food. It is an integral part of the culture across the Arab world, and no wonder, since historians believe that wheat and barley were first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent about 10,000 years ago. At that time the first grinding stone was invented in Egypt, and the first grain was crushed. The first bread was flat and thin, similar to tortillas. ("History of bread," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_bread&oldid=696359727 (accessed December 23, 2015).

     It is widely thought that the Egyptian skill with brewing beer and the warm climate led to the discovery of levening. Around 2500 BC, the first leavened breads were made in Egypt. (Encyclopedia of Food and Culture | 2003 | Franklin, Peter S. COPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. as quoted in http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/bread.aspx)

     Ever since that time, Bread has been part of each meal. The soft flat loaves can serve as a plate. Its soft, pliable texture make it perfect for dipping in liquid or semi-liquid foods. It can be folded into a scoop to pick up anything solid or semi-solid. Endlessly adaptable, it is the plate, the utensil, or the meal itself. Often called aish, which also means life, it is clear that for Arabs, bread is truly the staff of life. With a ten thousand year history, is it any wonder Arabs say that Bread is Life?
     Food plays a large part in my novels, Born a Refugee and Checkpoint Kalandia, just as in real life.  It truly is part of the culture. (http://sandhpublishing.com/Kalandia.html)
     Pita bread, also known as pocket bread, can be made from any standard bread recipe. When it is time to shape the dough, shape into balls about two inches in diameter. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise. After the dough rises, roll each ball into a disc a little less than a half an inch thick and let it rest for 10 or 15 minutes. Baking will puff the loaves into shapes resembling improperly inflated footballs. After the bread cools, each loaf will flatten out into its characteristic shape and there will be a pocket in the middle.

© 2010 jeffreyw, Flicker from Wylio.com

     Although everyone thinks of pita bread when the topic of Arabic bread arises, that is not the only kind of bread native to Palestine. Taboon (or tabun) bread is named after the domed stone ovens that villagers used to build. The ovens resemble stone igloos. On baking day, a fire is built inside the oven. As the fire subsides into embers, the village women slap the thin rounds of dough onto the oven walls. When the dough begins to fall off the wall, it is done. At least that is what I remember from a conversation with an elderly relative who lived in the small village of Burhahm. Today there are other ways of getting similar results. I have seen people bake the bread on an inverted wok over an open flame. It can also be approximated at home. http://arabianmama.com/2013/03/31/palestinian-taboon-bread/ that suggests preheating a flat baking dish covered with small rocks or pebbles to duplicate the texture of the original.

• http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/pitabread
• http://www.backwoodshome.com/middle-eastern-breads/
• http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-pita-bread-at-home-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-90844

All recipes for good pita bread. It is easy to make at home. Some people use ovens, others used large flat frying pans. There are many videos available that walk you through the process. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Dispossession and Destruction

What would you do if you woke up one cold winter morning and someone with a gun and a uniform handed you a demolition order for your house?

When a heavily armed group of soldiers are outside your door, there is not much you can do.  This is happening in the Palestinian village of Jaba.  The people of the village live on land that Israel wants for an illegal settlement.  See http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/02/04/287269/israel-to-raze-another-palestinian-village/ to see a video that shows the poverty of this village, and interviews with several of the residents.  This is not the first time the army has demolished homes in the village, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.  Soon Jaba will be added to the list of Palestinian villages that have been totally erased from the face of the earth.

Wikipedia has a table showing 531 destroyed/depopulated localities in the period from November 1947 to July 1949 alone.  This was just the beginning.  Towns, villages, hamlets, and neighborhoods are continually eroded and eventually erased by the forces of occupation.

If you search YouTube for Demolished Palestinian Villages, you will find 2,400 results. I have chosen a recent one to embed in this post.

The Palestinians cling to their heritage and beg the world to notice.

Samer Issawi is one of the many, many political prisoners in Israeli jails.  Samer is giving his life to call attention to what is happening in Palestine.  As I write this (February 8, 2013) his has been on a hunger strike for 200 days.  His body is shutting down, his captors mock his efforts, and still the media ignores him. (See the Free Samer Issawi Campaign on Facebook for more on his story.)  Can you even imagine 200 DAYS without food? I can't go 200 MINUTES without a snack or a cup of tea.

 

Despair, frustration, and anger can combine with devastating consequences—yet the Palestinians remain steadfast. For a more intimate look at how one family of Palestinian refugees cope with this maelstrom of emotions and their consequences, read my novel, REFUGEE WITHOUT REFUGE http://www.amazon.com/dp/1456486055

 

 

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Music: an irrelevance or a necessity?

But man’s greatest strength lies in his capacity for irrelevance.  In the midst of pestilences, wars and famines, he builds cathedrals; and a slave, he can think the irrelevant and unsuitable thoughts of a free man.

Aldous Huxley Antic Hay p. 127

 The Gaza Music School may be an irrelevance in the poverty stricken war zone of the Gaza Strip, but that makes it all the more necessary.  The children of Gaza have very few opportunities to sample the joys of life.  They have very few opportunities to help them recover from trauma of the constant threat of violence and the periodic bouts of full-fledged war.  The Gaza Music School is one avenue they may take toward healing.  http://www.indiegogo.com/TheGazaMusicSchool/x/703244

In Gaza Strip , closures, isolation and fragmentation imposed by Israel, are negatively affecting all forms of Palestinians’ daily life. This project contributes to activating cultural life...  Such activities have a great influence to elevate people’s hope, resilience, perseverance and steadfastness amid all daily encounters of despair and frustration.

The Gaza Music School was launched in July 2008, in response to growing demand for music education in the Gaza Strip, offering the first-ever structured and long-term music education program in Gaza. In January 2009, GMS was destroyed during the Israeli war on Gaza. Almost miraculously, with the help of international donors, the School re-opened three months later in a new expanded space, and adding to the team to accommodate the growing number of students.

THEY NEED YOUR HELP TO CONTINUE TO SERVE THE CHILDREN OF GAZA

http://www.indiegogo.com/TheGazaMusicSchool/x/703244

 

 

Palestine Youth Orchestra

The Palestine Youth Orchestra recently completed a tour of Italy, overcoming obstacles that young performers could not even imagine.  They have to leave the country by different routes, getting permission to leave is difficult, and even performing within Palestine is almost impossible.  The following is an information bulletin that tells more about creation of this incredible group of you musicians that stand out as shining examples of Palestinian culture.

The Palestine Youth Orchestra , a flagship project of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in Palestine , was created in 2004 with the aim of overcoming geographical boundaries by bringing together young Palestinian musicians from Palestine and the Diaspora, creating a body of musicians from different parts of the globe who will address the world with the harmonious universal language of music.  This vision incorporates the enhancement of the Palestinian cultural identity, creating cohesion amongst the larger Palestinian society – a vehicle towards nation building in an effort to overcome the barriers that have been erected between the Palestinians over the past decades.

Another dimension is to facilitate the coming together of Palestinian youth with their peers from other cultures, creating a channel for dialogue and exchange and learning about each other.  In addition to the guest conductors and coaches, the PYO invites annually young guest musicians from other countries further enriching the experience for all participating members. The PYO today is composed of about sixty young musicians from Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Europe and North America and very recently from South America. They constitute together a full fledged orchestra on a par with similar bodies around the world.

 The PYO is a unique ensemble performing the classics of the symphonic repertoire as well as promoting the works of Palestinian and Arab composers.  It is also unique because of what it conveys to Palestinian society and to the different communities and people abroad who have the opportunity to attend its performances, the PYO represents a new image of Palestine,  a new generation that loves life and loves music and is full of aspiration for a better tomorrow.

The PYO members have been honored by prestigious conductors such as Anne-Sophie Bruening and Walter Mik from Germany and the award winning British conductor Sian Edwards who led the PYO in three concerts in Jordan, Lebanon and Greece and will be leading them again in the summer of 2012.

As their tour winds down for the year, an Italian news website published a recnt video.  http://video.repubblica.it/spettacoli-e-cultura/musica-come-resistenza-l-orchestra-palestinese/102823/101203  In addition to hearing some of the music, the video also shows short English language interviews of the musicians.

This is a triumph for Palestinians everywhere.

This is an older video of an orchestral performance.