Potato King!

Rasha Almaqaleh

 A couple of weeks ago, we went to the big mall of the city and, to our surprise, we found some lovely large farm pieces, placed neatly on the floor. 

seemingly real farms, there were 

scarecrows and some harvest baskets full of crops such as potatoes and pumpkins. It was then when we realized that the harvest festival season has started. October is the time when harvest is celebrated in Germany.  Erntedankfest or harvest feast is usually celebrated on the first Sunday in October and it is an interesting part of the German culture, especially in the countryside.

  Potatoes, particularly, are a very popular crop in Germany and an essential ingredient of German cuisine. While in Yemeni grocery stores, potato is just potato regardless of its type, size, and texture, in Germany potatoes are categorized into so many types and

each type is used for a certain recipe. If you go to the produce section in any local supermarket here, you’ll be amazed by the potato varieties; they are so many that one could use guidance. So, shopping for potatoes is a big deal and you may need someone to explain to you the differences between the astonishing varieties.

  Two weeks ago, we attended a nice event in the kindergarten which was called ‘Potato festival’, Kartoffelfest. All parents were asked earlier to bring along a large potato to the fest because there was a competition for the children in which the owner of the largest potato would win the title of the fest: ‘the potato king’! The fest was held at 4 pm in the kindergarten yard. All the celebrators gathered around a fire. Children sang an autumn welcome song, der Herbst ist da.

Then, parents with their children stood in a line in order to get their potatoes weighed. The ‘potato weighing board’ consisted of two kindergarten teachers who had a scale on the table. One of them would weighed the potatoes and the other wrote down the weights on a list and also on paper tags with strings. Those tags, which were shaped like potatoes, were given to the children to hang around their necks till the moment of announcing the winners at the end of the festival.

  After that, parents and children enjoyed the potato dishes which were prepared by the kindergarten teachers, such as potato soup and potato slices. Moreover, they played together some potato-related games such as potato sack race, collecting potatoes, and spoon balance.

  As in many German open-air fests, baking stick bread is a main activity which is greatly enjoyed by kids and adults alike. In this fun activity, dough is wrapped around wooden sticks and baked over charcoal fire for a couple of minutes and then you get fresh crispy bread!

Nice potato dishes were served in the festival such as potato soup and ‘potato slices’.

At the end of the festival, the parents and children gathered around three lovely tree-trunk podiums which were placed in order to announce three winners. Amusingly, three potato-shaped medals were prepared for this moment, just like the Olympics! Unfortunately, we did not win any medal as our potato weighed only three hundred and seven grams while the three wining potatoes’ weighed way more than that. A girl with a seven hundred gram potato won the title of the contest:  the potato king (or queen!). The second place went to a boy with a half kilo gram potato whilst another boy with a four –hundred gram potato won the third place.

Even though we didn’t win the competition, the event was really fun and entertaining.  We felt so lucky to attend such a festival and to have a pleasant experience that certainly is worth remembering! 

My story with Qat- Part 4

Yemen without Qat!

Anis Albasha

How would Yemen be without Qat?! This is a question that I've always been asking myself. In view of the fact that Qat is a common denominator of 90% of the Yemeni people and since Yemenis and Qat are irrevocably linked, I can't help but think how life in Yemen would be if there were no Qat!

People who chew Qat as an antidote to their problems won't like to take part in this imaginary scenario. That’s probably because they don’t know any other way to make their troubles less unbearable.  On the other hand, there are some Yemeni chewers who ask themselves the very same question, especially those who travelled outside Yemen and saw different places free of that hideous shrub. Yet, when I was in Yemen, I rather preferred to dream about this scenario alone because whenever I asked some of my friends to dream with me, they would say something like: “Interesting! Let’s get together this afternoon, chew some Qat and think about it!”  The reason behind such a response is that many of them can only dream under the influence of Qat!

The picture which my mind draws as an answer to that question is so exquisite and entrancing. With all the potentials, natural beauty and manpower that Yemen enjoys, I am adamant that without Qat, the life of Yemeni people would be so much different.

First of all, without chewing Qat, people would not act oblivious and live in a complete denial when it comes to their daily life problems. Rather, they would realize that there are serious issues in life that need to be addressed. Yemenis would be able to see their reality as it is and would try to improve it. Social life would be quenched and fulfilled with other options away from Qat. Yemeni people would aspire for an entertained life which would lead eventually to the establishment of many parks, playgrounds, sport clubs, theaters…etc, and this would allow people to socialize and spend time with each other without the need to stuff their cheeks with Qat green leaves.

The absence of Qat would pave the way to the Yemeni Mocha Coffee to flourish and regain its glory as the best Coffee in the world. Yemeni farmers would be able to cultivate Coffee beans and export them to Europe and to the rest of the world.

It is astonishing to know that, 40 years ago, Yemen was rich in natural resources and the country was patricianly self-sufficient in cereal and other crop supplies, and recently because of Qat growth, Yemen has imported between 75% and 90% of its food requirements. 

In fact, numbers reveal shocking facts about the deleterious effects of Qat on the local economy. For instance, while the most productive arable lands in the country have been reserved for Qat production, Qat production and consumption contribute to 6 % of the GDP growth and to 14% of the total employment! So, if there were no Qat, Yemeni farmers wouldn't trade their vulnerable food crops for Qat, rather they would focus on Yemen's most valued food assets such as Coffee and grapes. Moreover, the absence of Qat would help with the issue of water scarcity. According to experts, Qat growth has significantly drawn on the country's water supplies and the lands used for growing Qat consume more water than any other crops in Yemen.

So, from an economical perspective, we can say that without Qat, Yemen would gain its momentum. If experts said that the most efficient way to save the country from starvation is to promote the renaissance of its own agricultural industry by resorting a healthy balance between Qat and food crop cultivation, we can imagine how would it be if there were no "balance" and it were all for food crop. Yemeni children wouldn't suffer from malnutrition and they would be able to eat fruit and vegetable which have a unique taste. I have been to many places such as Egypt, India, Sweden and Germany and I've tried different kind of fruit and vegetable from those lands, but I've never found the irreplaceable distinctive taste which Yemeni crops enjoy. 

In addition to that, if there were no Qat, workers and employees in Yemen would work for actual 8 hours a day and there would be no crazy scrambling or rushing out of offices before 12 o'clock in order to catch Qat markets. Besides, there would be no "Qat bribe" which has to be paid in order to get any official/government business done. 

All the above aforementioned could be real if Yemeni people paid attention to the seriousness of Qat issue and took brave actions against this ugly plant which consumes their money and their time for nothing in return but detrimental effects.

Long time ago, I realized that Qat is a serious problem and I didn't allow it to be even a minor part in my life, however, Qat has been always there provoking me even when I was outside Yemen.

I remember once when I was in Egypt, I got into an unfriendly discussion with a bunch of Egyptians on the train about Yemen. One of them tried to provoke me by saying – mockingly- it must be hard for me not to chew Qat while staying in Egypt!

In India, the view of people chewing Paan – a preparation of combining betel leaf with areca nut -was a kind of déjà vu that reminded me of Yemeni people chewing Qat. Furthermore, once they knew that I am from Yemen; many western people asked me about Qat, not about any other Yemeni good things like Mocha Coffee for instance.

All this has increased the hatred inside me towards Qat. At the same time, I am feeling good because I have strived hard ad nauseam to avoid Qat and to look for other options that kept me away from it. But I feel frustrated when I see how much my people glorifying and adoring Qat. 

One time, a friend of mine went on training to Holland, when he returned he told me about the unbelievable beauty he had seen in that country. He said that once he was setting in the balcony and looking at an idyllic spectacular view which he had never seen before in his life. To my surprise, he also added that, at that very special moment, he wished he had a bundle of Qat which would really fulfill his pleasure! 

Thinking of such incidents make the conception of 'Yemen without Qat' sounds pathetic, at least at the short term. However, it might be changed at the long term since recently there are many people who disdain Qat, especially among youth. For me, I think that I have my carte blanche over Qat and there will be no more chapters of my story with Qat – or that's what I hope- since thousands of miles are separating us now. As long as Qat is banned here in Germany, I don't think it has a chance to tease me again.  

Nevertheless, I can't deny the fact that I am gravitating towards more and that's why I keep thinking about the idea I started this article with. Will it come true one day? I have no clue, but as it is said, sometimes things become possible if we want them bad enough.

A day in Lübeck

View of Lübeck from above

Anis Albasha
We've heard a lot about Lübeck, the beautiful ancient city in northern Germany.  And we have always wanted to see this city which is listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site because of its extensive Brick Gothic architecture. On September 23^rd, we went with our neighbor on a trip to Lübeck. We hit the road around 11 am. It was unexpectedly warm and that’s why people here called the last two weeks of last September ‘the extra summer days’!

When we arrived there at the noon, we headed to the old town of Lübeck , Altstadt. We visited St. Peter's Church which was built between 1227 and 1250 and expanded in the 15^th and 16^th century to a five-naved Gothic hall church. The only one elevator there took us to a viewing platform at the top of the Church where people can enjoy a magnificent panoramic high angle view of Lübeck's old town and the surrounding area which looks like an island enclosed by the Trave river.

View of Lübeck from the viewing platform of St.Peter's church

 After that, we walked quietly along narrow streets which lead to the old Town Hall where there were some teeming cafes and restaurants scattered here and there. It is stated that much of the old town of Lübeck has kept a medieval appearance and that was so obvious with all the old buildings which have a distinctive architecture style as well as with the narrow cobblestone streets which make you feel like taking a step back in time.

 Town Hall square 

Besides its unique medieval appearance, Lübeck is famous for its 'Marzipan' industry. Marzipan is a confection consisting primarily of sugar or honey and almonds meal, sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. According to some locals, this tasty sweet was first made in Lübeck in response to a siege of the city. Our German neighbor who accompanied us in this trip told us that- based on the legend- the town ran out of all food except stored almonds and sugar which people used to make food and to confront the famine.  However, other sources say that Marzipan actually was invented in Persia and the word 'Marzipan' itself was taken from the Persian language. It is said that around the 13^th century, when the crusaders returned from the orient, they brought with them a host of spices which were generally traded in tiny boxes. The enchanting word "Mataban" (box) gradually came to be used for the contents of the boxes: Mazapane (Italian), Massepain (French), Marzipan (German). The first European to indulge in Marzipan were kings and rich people. Later, Marzipan reproductions of all sorts of fruits, poultry and game were created. 

We visited the famous Marzipan shop in Lübeck which is called Niederegger. Established in 1806 by Johann Georg Niederegger, the shop is still enjoying a great reputation in whole Germany and it is a favorite place which tourists often visit while in Lübeck. Niederegger's recipe for Marzipan "as many almonds as possible, as little sugar as necessary" was the secret behind the growing reputation of that shop which has been passed on from generation to generation. When we were in the shop, we noticed the various Marzipan products that are scattered and placed over many shelves. Everything is made of Marzipan: chocolates, cookies, cakes and also there are different fruit-shaped Marzipan confections which look like real fruits!

Even though we’ve read some reviews about the city suggesting that Lübeck  is only worth visiting in the Christmas season for its special markets, the city seemed so special and amazing even in September! We spent a few hours there but we had a lovely time and we saw a unique German city that enjoys an interesting historical heritage and some of the world’s finest confectionery products.