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He who drinks the water of this country will miss itforever so said Farid Fakhour, a Syrian who studied

medicine in Beijing in the early 1980s, of China.

And the young doctor missed it so much that

he returned, rst to marry his Chinese sweetheart

and then to found a small business selling Middle

Eastern snacks. Neither husband nor wife had much

cash, but it was the mid-1990s, foreigners were

beginning to visit China in greater numbers and

they spied opportunity. By this year, 14 years later,

they had become successful restaurateurs. Their

ve 1001 Nights restaurants are the most famous

and recognisable Arabic brand in a country with a

very small but growing Arab community.In March last year, aged just 48, Dr Fakhour was

hard at work on plans to open more restaurants in

more Chinese cities as well as expanding to London

and Australia when he suffered a fatal heart attack.

He did everything himself and made a big name

here in China, said his nephew Ashraf Ghanem,

31, who runs the chains newest restaurant (main

picture)located in Solana, a shopping mall

reminiscent of Dubai's Madinat Jumeirah and

situated near many of the foreign embassies, in

Beijing. Dr Fakhour is survived by his widow,

whose Arabic name is Abeer, and two daughters,

the eldest of whom was born in his home town of

Suwaida in southern Syria.

Now for us the priority is to take care of this

name and this brand. What we are doing in these

restaurants is something special.

The 1001 Nights company has two restaurants in

Beijing and one in Shanghai, Chinas economic

powerhouse. A further restaurant is located

Yiwu, a small city in Zheijiang Province a few hours

outside Shanghai that hosts Chinas biggest Ara

community, numbering about 20,000 and attracted

by the wholesale goods markets there. A furthe

restaurant is in Guangzhou, a trading city and th

capital of Guangdong Province, about three hour

by train from Hong Kong.

At Solana, the restaurants sliding doors open into

dining area heavily tricked-out with Middle Eastern

paraphernalia. Long tables seat up to 250 people, the

walls and ceiling are decorated in complex Islami

patterns and the menu offers about 500 dishes, a ful

range of Levantine appetisers, kebabs and desserts

Many of the ingredients, such as hummous, lentils

1001 NightsStory and photographs by Tom Spender

Beijing

118 brownbook magazine

And as belly-dancing wanes inthe Middle East thanks to risinglevels of public piety, the hip-shakingcontinues in Beijing with dancersfrom Russia, former Soviet republicssuch as Uzbekistan and XinjiangProvince in Chinas far northwestperforming every night.

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chickpeas and waraq anab, vine leaves stuffed

with rice, are imported fresh from Syria Its

not easy, its not cheap, but we have to do it, says

Ashraf.

Couscous, a Moroccan speciality, is also on the

menu following requests by French diners, while

the Arabic desserts are not quite as sugary as their

counterparts in Damascus because their sweetness

is unfamiliar to the Chinese palate.

And as belly-dancing wanes in the Middle

East thanks to rising levels of public piety, the

hip-shaking continues in Beijing with dancers

from Russia, former Soviet republics such as

Uzbekistan and Xinjiang Province in Chinas far

northwest performing every night.

Initially, the clientele in the Beijing restaurants

was mainly Arab diplomatic staff, Arab students

and travellers and other foreigners but now more

than half the diners are Chinese, Ashraf said.

Some are attracted to the unfamiliar and

exotic while others, like Ya Li Ken, a Muslim

businessman from Xinjiang Province, eat there

because it reminds him of home.Its the same

food and the same culture, he said.

Islam arrived in China along the former trade

routes from the Middle East known as the Silk

Road and at port cities on the countrys eastern

seaboard.

There are about 20 million Muslims from the

majority Han ethnic group as well as an estimated

nine million Muslim ethnic Uighurs in Xinjiang

Province.

Now, as China continues to open up, opportunity

is prompting more Middle Easterners to follow

in Dr Fakhours footsteps. Before he received

the call from his uncle in Beijing, Ashraf said

his heart was set on a move to Europe or north

America.

China never entered his thoughts because it

was portrayed as a poor and backward country on

Arabic TV, he said. Now he has been in China for

three years and speaks to his staff in Mandarin.

I like it here, he says. Things are changing

very fast and you also feel like you are changing

the country.

1. Syrian Ashraf Ghanem, nephew of 1001 Nights chain founder, Farid Fakhour.2 . A Chinese waiter serves Middle Eastern cuisine at 1001 Nights

3 . The newest 1001 Nights restaurant in Solana shopping mall, Beijing.