baking inspired by imagery in palestinian literature
The title of the site is inspired by a short story, titled “The Land of Sad Oranges” by Ghassan Kanafani, a Palestinian literary figure and revolutionary. In it, Kanafani writes:
“I watched the long line of cars enter Lebanon, leaving long behind them the land of orange. I started wailing. Your mother was still looking in silence at the oranges. In your father’s eyes were the reflection of all the orange trees he had left behind for the Israelis, all the clean orange trees he had planted one by one, glittered in his face. He failed to stop the tears that filled up in his eyes, when he came to face the head police officer. When we reached Saida in the afternoon, we became refugees.”
Translation: Ghassan Kanafani, The Land of Sad Oranges
Poster by Hafez Omar from the Palestine Poster Project
The oranges in this story represent everything Palestinians left behind when they were forced from their land to become refugees, and the rootedness of Palestinians to their homeland. The land in coastal Palestine was planted with orange groves and the orange-growing business was booming pre-Nakba. The “Jaffa Orange” was widely exported and the orange became a symbol for the Palestinian nation because it served as a representation of the “product of Palestine” to the rest of the world. In 1948, when Zionist militas took over the coastal cities of Akka, Jaffa, and Haifa, they not only took over all Palestinian orange groves, but also the “Jaffa Orange” brand.
The loss of Palestine to Zionists, the loss of lives, and the loss of orange groves were all represented by the orange that was left behind. The orange became the symbol of a lost homeland.
Throughout this website, you’ll find recipes with ingredients like citrus, olive oil, figs, pomegranates, and spices like cardamom and herbs like za’atar. The way they are featured in my recipes may be unusual, but their scents and tastes are familiar to me and many Palestinians and are a reminder of our homeland.