Palestinian baker Yousef Shaheen displays traditional Palestinian taboon bread at his bakery in the West Bank city of Salfit, July 13, 2021. Yousef Shaheen, a Palestinian man from the West Bank city of Salfit, dedicates the early hours of every morning to making traditional Palestinian taboon bread at a small bakery. The 84-year-old father of eight told Xinhua that he strives to protect his trade from extinction amid the rise of modern bakeries in his governorate. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua)
by Sanaa Kamal
GAZA, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Yousef Shaheen, a Palestinian man from the West Bank city of Salfit, dedicates the early hours of every morning to making traditional Palestinian taboon bread at a small bakery.
The 84-year-old father of eight told Xinhua that he strives to protect his trade from extinction amid the rise of modern bakeries in his governorate.
"I have been doing this work at a bakery since I was a little boy. I inherited the trade from my father and my ancestors. I have been working for more than 67 years," he said.
At the very beginning, he treated this trade merely as a source of income that could keep his family afloat. But as time went by, his attitude has changed when seeing the new generation knows less and less about its history.
In a bid to spread his experience, the old man has moved among various bakeries in the West Bank, where he teaches the younger generation how to make traditional Palestinian taboon bread.
"I have succeeded in teaching many bakers across the West Bank," the Palestinian old man told Xinhua.
In addition to taboon bread, Shaheen prepares various kinds of pastries stuffed with cheese, thyme and meat.
"I prepare my taboon bread and pastries using healthy ingredients that would charge our bodies with energy, especially when we eat it in the morning," Shaheen said, adding he uses olive oil and wheat flour in all of his products.
Abdul Moneem al-Masry, the owner of the bakery where Shaheen works, told Xinhua that Shaheen has become an icon in the West Bank, not only as the fastest baker, but as an advocate of traditions among the younger generations.
"In collaboration with four other bakers, Shaheen produces hundreds of taboon bread loaves for our entire governorate and even for the neighboring ones. It is really special taboon bread that carries the smell of our beautiful history when all people were proud of their life," al-Masry said.
Mahmoud al-Sabbah, a local customer, praised the taboon bread made by Shaheen as "the most delicious bread" he has ever tasted, saying they reminded him of the bread made by his late mother.
"I used to come here every day to buy the bread and even to hear the stories from our uncle (Shaheen), who told us how we can keep our history in our minds through protecting traditions from fading away and encouraging our children to adopt them in their daily life," the young man said. Enditem
