“This place reflects who we are as human beings”: New natural wine bar opens in Prague
Farah Abou Kharroub has one of those personalities that draws you in from the moment you meet her. That warmth and hospitality is something that she is trying to translate into her new venture, Aleb – a wine bar purveying exclusively natural wines from around Czechia and serving up food from the Levant region where she hails from. A filmmaker by training, a wine bar was never in the cards for Farah, but when I visited Aleb, she told me more about her time in Prague and how it’s led her here.
“I moved to Prague seven years ago to study film direction at FAMU. I’m in love with the city and the culture, and I call this place my home. I’m graduating this year, and it’s important for me to have more things to do in Prague after I finish at FAMU. I wanted to start a cultural space where we introduce my culture’s food and create a hub where my friends and I can learn together and be together, so that’s how this place was born.”
You are Palestinian but you were born in Lebanon, correct?
"Regardless of the sides people are taking, there are so many people who see beyond this and see humanity. This is what matters for me, there is no ‘us’ and ‘them’, we are all human beings."
“My grandparents were living in Palestine but had to move to Lebanon in 1948 after the exodus. My mother and father were born in Lebanon, and I was born in a refugee camp in Beirut. I lived in Beirut and went to school there until I turned 21 and decided to come to film school in Prague.”
And you’ve never looked back?
“It’s a love and hate relationship with Beirut. It’s a city that taught me a lot, but took so much from me.”
Tell me more about that?
“One of the first short films I did at FAMU, which was actually screened at the Ji.hlava Film Festival, was about some home videos I had from my father who was a photojournalist and documented the Lebanese war. When I was 13 years old, I was standing on my balcony with my video camera, and bombs blew up right in front of our faces, and I captured this on my camera. I made the documentary ‘Summer 2006’ to compare how the different generations suffer and how we are stripped over our innocence and childhood in the region of Levant. It’s such a beautiful place, but it’s very tough.”
If it’s okay with me asking, how has it been for you here in Czechia with what is going on in the Middle East? Czechia is quite divided in terms of this conflict.
“It is tense, but there is so much support. Regardless of the sides people are taking, there are so many people who see beyond this and see humanity. This is what matters for me, there is no ‘us’ and ‘them’, we are all human beings. The last time there was a protest at Náměstí míru, I was in my flat making lunch and started to hear ‘free Palestine’ chants. I went to my balcony and looked out to see all of these people who were in solidarity, I couldn’t believe I was hearing this in Prague.
“My Jewish friends also support me non-stop here in Prague and have been pushing me to open this place and to be proud of my Palestinian heritage. For me, this is what matters. When this all began in October, I didn’t go out for a month, I was really scared. I don’t even know how to put it into words.”
Did you feel unsafe in Prague?
“Yes, I really did not feel safe at all.”
Has been opening Aleb helped you reclaim your power and place in Prague?
“Yes, and that’s a really nice way to put it. This place reflects who we are as human beings, and how much we cherish our food and culture. As Palestinians and Lebanese people, we want others to know that there are so many deeper layers to who we are – it’s not just about war and conflict.
"I wanted to start a cultural space where we introduce my culture’s food and create a hub where my friends and I can learn together and be together."
"Opening Aleb has allowed me to really dig deeper into the history of this region which has been standing for years. Going back to the Phoenicians and Canaanite times, and how things have evolved from there. I think it’s really important to bring this here to Prague, and to talk to people and let them know more about us, and to always have an open conversation.”
Czech society is quite homogeneous, so sometimes the perceptions they have of people from other groups aren’t so deep. Spaces in society like Aleb where they can learn more about cultures and people and humanity are really important…
“I have so many Czech friends that love to travel and go to our region a lot. Of course it’s like everyone in the world, anytime you get out of our bubble and explore something different, you see the beauty in life. What I love about it here, especially in Vinohrady, is that people are dropping in all the time and asking questions about who we are and where we’re from, and wishing us luck.
"The perception is changing, and I think people are becoming more open to accepting others. This is a safe environment and area, and I love talking to the locals.”
The bar is called Aleb. What does that mean?
“Aleb means heart in Arabic. We decided to have this name because we do things from the heart, and we’re bringing the recipes from our grandmothers and mothers, and ancestral methods of cooking. We always go back to the roots.”
When people come by and visit the wine bar, what can they expect? What do you hope to show them and give them?
“Mostly the concept of food and how we cook it. None of our food is fried, it’s all organic, and we want people to understand the importance of the food you eat and how it impacts the body. We also pair our food with natural wine, so none of our wines will make you feel bad, they are full of minerals and are full of benefits, even if it’s alcohol.
“We also have this big table in the middle because we want people to gather around and talk to each other. We have to close at 10pm, but we find that people want to stay and talk longer after that, because once you start exchanging and talking and drinking, you don’t want to leave. So we have to apologize to our customers for that!”
Hopefully later hours coming soon!
"Aleb means heart in Arabic. We decided to have this name because we do things from the heart, and we’re bringing the recipes from our grandmothers and mothers, and ancestral methods of cooking."
“We also plan on holding events here. The first event will be this Friday – a movie themed event called Silence of the Lambs. We are cooking lamb with a recipe from Levant. We are also partnering with wine makers, and will have a wine maker from Moravia come in to teach a master class and tasting.
"On the 10th, we are also doing an Eid celebration with Manifesto Market, so we will be cooking there, hopefully connecting with new people and telling them about our space. We are also more than happy to collaborate with artists who want to showcase their work here, so they can message us anytime.
“More than anything, this place was born because of the support of our family and close friends. They are our investors who believed in us and told us we could do this. I really hope that Aleb will bring something fruitful to Prague.”
