Damascus - Roasted nuts are one of Syria's old and traditional industries for more than two hundred years where a few nut shops are still located in their old sites in Medhat Basha Souk, Old Damascus.
Owner of a traditional nut shop, Ahmed Berqdar, grandson of Ali Berqdar, said that his great grandfather, in addition to some other Damascene families, introduced this vocation to the country from Turkey and then it spread throughout Syria.
He pointed out that the families (the Nizams, the Lahams, the Haffars, the Sabbaghs, the Midani Eibos, and the Meehs) are still inheriting the profession generation after generation.
"The Syrian nuts are world-famous as they have widely spread in the Arab and international markets," said Ahmed, adding that his family's shop is still exporting nuts to the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Arab countries.
Ahmed Berqdar, a member of Nut Profession in Damascus Chamber of Commerce, estimated the grand amount of Syria's nut production at a million tons annually as it exports 25% of the whole production.
Around 50 kinds of nuts are produced in Syria including peanuts, roasted salty chickpeas, almond, cashew, pistachio, macadamia and roasted spicy corns.
© SANA (Syria Arab News Agency) 2011
