Printed Apron from Qastina - Maqlouba

Literally translated as “upside-down,” Maqlouba is often considered the national dish of Palestine. It’s a one-pot, shared meal consisting of rice, vegetables and meat cooked together and then flipped upside down onto a serving platter creating a festive cake-like presentation.

This screen printed apron shares a family maqlouba recipe passed down from mother to son. With these designs, artisan Ayed Arafah turns Palestinian culinary heritage into beautiful and useful daily objects.

Made of 100% mansouri cotton woven in Palestine and printed in Dheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem. Machine wash cold, hang to dry. Approximately 29" x 23"

During his visits abroad, artist and designer Ayed Arafah would regularly phone his mother and ask her for recipes; she would then dictate the right instructions. Arafah was trying to cook his favourite dishes, and he was left with many scraps of paper with recipes on them. Back in Palestine, he translated these into handwritten memos and drawings, and screen-printed the artworks onto cotton fabric woven in Al Khalil/Hebron. As a Palestinian refugee in Bethlehem, Arafah keeps the memory of Qastina – the village he originates from – alive.