A Libyan town comes together to make a beloved Ramadan dish

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Volunteers prepare Bazin, traditional Libyan dough bread made of barley or whole wheat flour and often served with stew in Tajoura, east of Libya’s capital Tripoli, Mar. 11, 2025, during Ramadan. (AP)
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Volunteers serve traditional unleavened Libyan bread made out of barley in Tajoura, east of Libya’s capital Tripoli, Mar. 11, 2025, during Ramadan. (AP)
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Libyan volunteers mixes the products to make traditional unleavened Libyan bread made out of barley in Tajoura, east of Libya’s capital Tripoli, Mar. 11, 2025, during the holy month of Ramadan. (AP)
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A Libyan volunteer shows a just made traditional unleavened Libyan bread made out of barley in Tajoura, east of Libya’s capital Tripoli, Mar. 11, 2025, during Ramadan. (AP)
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Updated 14 March 2025
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A Libyan town comes together to make a beloved Ramadan dish

  • In Tajoura, just east of Libya ‘s capital of Tripoli, it’s the perfect food for iftar
  • Tajoura residents of all ages are eager to help with roles from making the bread

TRIPOLI: Every year during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a Libyan town comes together to prepare — and share — one of their all-time favorite dishes: bazin.
In Tajoura, just east of Libya ‘s capital of Tripoli, it’s the perfect food for iftar, the evening meal when Muslims break the dawn-to-dusk fasting of Ramadan.
Savory and rich, bazin is usually made of unleavened barley flour and served with a rich stew full of vegetables and — hopefully — mutton. If those aren’t available, which they often haven’t been in the past decade and a half due to Libya’s violence and turmoil, a simple tomato sauce will do.
Preparing it is a joint effort, and Tajoura residents of all ages are eager to help with roles from making the bread, handing it out to the poor or donating ingredients to the community.
Typically, the men of Tajoura volunteer to make the bread in a makeshift communal kitchen, using long wooden sticks to stir the barley flour water in large pots to make the dough.
Others then knead the dough, shaping it into large clumps that look a bit like giant dumplings, to be baked or steamed. Once ready, other volunteers hand out bazin to a people lined up outside, who eagerly wait to take it home for iftar.
Ramadan is a time of intense prayers, charity and spirituality.
And in Tajoura, it’s also time for bazin.
This photo gallery by Yousef Murad was curated by Amr Nabil in Cairo.


Military coalition in Yemen condemns attack on commander’s convoy

Coalition spokesman Major General Turki Al-Maliki called the ambush “a criminal act that is contrary to all moral values.
Updated 22 January 2026
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Military coalition in Yemen condemns attack on commander’s convoy

  • Al-Maliki also said the coalition is committed to supporting Yemeni security efforts and pursuing those involved in the attack and bringing them to justice

RIYADH: The Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen condemned on Wednesday an attack that targeted the convoy of a senior commander.
The attack in the Jaoula area of ​​Lahj governorate targeted vehicles under the command of Brigadier General Hamdi Shukri, who heads the second division of the Giants Forces.
Coalition spokesman Major General Turki Al-Maliki said there were numerous deaths injuries and called the ambush “a criminal act that is contrary to all human and moral values.”
He said the coalition, which includes Saudi Arabia, will continue coordinating with the relevant authorities to ensure the security of citizens and maintain stability, Saudi Press Agency reported.
He called for people to work with the Yemeni government and military authorities to confront any sabotage attempts or terrorist operations targeting the security and stability of liberated governorates.
Al-Maliki also said the coalition is committed to supporting Yemeni security efforts and pursuing those involved in the attack and bringing them to justice.