The Community Qidra Oven

At the end of a sandy alley near the Palestinian Sports Stadium and right behind the Holy Mary School, lives the last man in Gaza City who still makes qidra as it is supposed to be made: in great handmade unglazed clay pots, tightly sealed and slowly cooked in a blazing stone oven. While Jamal does prepare the rice himself for some clients, mostly his is an oven service: the client provides and mixes the rice, spices, and meat, then Jamal takes care of the cooking.

He learned the art of the qidra oven from his father and grandfather and hopes to pass the oven on to his son. The oven was built in the early 1960s, all of stone, with intense butane heat. Jamal dexterously rotates the pots in the oven with a long hooked pole so they cook evenly. Each pot has the client’s name written on it with chalk.