Syrian engineer sells manakish in KRI
Eyli Issa, Syrian refugee, sells manakish on his carriage in Erbil – North Press
ERBIL, KRI, Iraq (North Press) – At 7:00 am, Eyli Issa comes to his small carriage parked in Ankawa neighbourhood near Ashiti Park in the city of Erbil, starts to make manakishes according to the Syrian way, and sells them for passers-by.
30-year-old Issa stays at work till 10:00 pm and then he closes his carriage and returns home on his motorbike.
Prior to 2019, Issa used to work for a communication company in Syria. However, war and the deterioration of economic conditions forced him to leave his country and travel to Erbil.
Issa, a Computer Science Engineering graduate from Damascus University, looked for job opportunities at companies to work within his specialization, but it was in vain.
So that, a year and a half ago, he decided to buy a carriage and sell manakish to be his source of livelihood.
“After coronavirus, situation was very difficult, it was hard to find a job,” Issa said.
He said that he did not known anything about culinary world, and that he never worked in a kitchen; however, a friend of him taught him some recipes and how to make soughs.
“My first try was not successful, I modified it based on people’s feedbacks,” he said.
After daily practice, his customers started to like his manakishes and come to taste them.
His Syrian customers prefer cheese and thyme manakish, while the Iraqis asked him to add chicken and meat.
“People have different tastes, so I was forced to cook meat or chicken for sandwiches,” Issa added.
Due to poor conditions, at first, Issa bought a saj and then the carriage, and gradually, he bought the rest of the items, including wooden shelves, some metal cans and little stools.
Issa, who hails from the city of Homs Governorate, in central Syria, said, while preparing an order for a woman, “Generally, I did not use to work in culinary field in Syria, so I had not expected to work in it. However, it is a beautiful experience.”