On the way South, baba always stops at the Aytam gas station to fill the car. Visit after visit the prices are soaring high & it shows on the faces of the different people present around the station. Much less than I grew up seeing. People cannot afford going to their South anymore, nor their North.
At the Aytam stations & institutions, the profits go to the Aytam — orphans in Arabic. These institutions — under the Mabarrat Association (in Arabic, charity trusts) — were founded by Ayatollah Mohammad Husayn Fadlallah, a Lebanese Shiite cleric & important figure in the community.
Nowadays homemade products can be found for sale at the stations — labneh mka3zaleh, various types of jam, orange blossom water, rose water, etc.
We tried raspberry & strawberry jam, as well as what is called Teen Ma3qoud — figs dipped in their molasses (& the nice man who sold them to us swore there are no added sugars in the pots!).
I have always loved how my baba becomes friends with everyone he crosses. The man recognised him from afar & brought the trolley, laughing, because he knows baba has already bought a lot of varieties & it is impossible that we may need more for the time being.
When people around me buy their gas from the Aytam stations they always say that this is a place they know won’t sell them less gas for what they pay. I’ve often heard “Fiyon Barakeh” — as in they are blessed in Arabic, because their counterparty is charity. I like to believe that as well.
