Al-Manhal is a social-enterprise bakery and library in the heart of the Old City of Damascus, on the famed Straight Street, currently in its soft opening phase.
Al-Manhal uses local ingredients from around Syria, including Syrian wheat, to make artisanal baked goods, and offers a carefully curated selection of books, made accessible and affordable to Syrians.
We also host cultural events that promote unity and social cohesion, celebrate diversity, and contribute to post-conflict healing and reconciliation.
In Arabic, Al-Manhal means The Fount—a place to which one comes to quench their thirst for ideas and nourishment.
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What We Do
The Bakery
The Community Space
The Bakery
Inspired by Mavia Bakery in Beirut, founded by Brant, our bakery produces innovative baked goods inspired by tradition and uses locally sourced Syrian ingredients, including wheat. By working directly with Syrian farmers and millers, Al-Manhal challenges the understandable dominance of cheap imported wheat after years of isolation and war
Inspired by Mavia Bakery in Beirut, founded by Brant, our bakery produces innovative baked goods inspired by tradition and uses locally sourced Syrian ingredients, including wheat. By working directly with Syrian farmers and millers, Al-Manhal challenges the understandable dominance of cheap imported wheat after years of isolation and war, and revive the use of local grain and traditional stone milling to produce exceptional baked goods that reflect Syria’s diverse regions and food cultures.
The Books
The Community Space
The Bakery
Al-Manhal offers a curated selection of quality books about Syria and the world which are relevant to local readers at this pivotal moment in their country's history. We aim to make essential knowledge accessible to all Syrians. Members of our community can borrow books against a deposit that would be returned in full upon return of the
Al-Manhal offers a curated selection of quality books about Syria and the world which are relevant to local readers at this pivotal moment in their country's history. We aim to make essential knowledge accessible to all Syrians. Members of our community can borrow books against a deposit that would be returned in full upon return of the book. Later on, we will. sell books at affordable, second-hand prices to Syrians.
The Community Space
The Community Space
The Community Space
Al-Manhal hosts author talks and book signings, reading groups and book clubs, cultural conversations and public discussions, baking and creative workshops, among other events. It is a place where ideas circulate freely, and where people can connect and share their collective passions and journeys of healing and growth.
ABOUT THE CO-FOUNDERS
Asser Khattab is a French-Syrian writer and journalist who grew up between his two ancestral cities of Aleppo and Damascus and returned to Syria from exile following the fallow the Assad regime.
Brant Stewart is a baker and social entrepreneur from the United States who has worked with Syrians in Lebanon since 2013. Together, Asser and Brant are co-founding al-Manhal.
The Space
Al-Manhal is located on Straight Street in the heart of the Old City of Damascus, a historic thoroughfare mentioned by name in the Bible and long a place of passage, encounter, and exchange. The project is intentionally rooted in this context and developed in close collaboration with the local community, with the aim of welcoming everyone. The space lies near where Asser’s family is originally from and where he lived during his university years, and where Brant now lives part time. Al-Manhal does not seek to transform the Old City, but to work within it—drawing on its history, learning from its people, and supporting careful, locally grounded renewal.
WHAT WE HAVE DONE SO FAR
- Raised over $70,000 online and through fundraisers in London, Paris, Copenhagen, New York, and Los Angeles.
- Used the money to rent and fully renovate our 75m² space; purchase equipment, furniture, and books; and hire staff.
- Launched Al-Manhal's soft opening phase in March 2026.
- Developed our visual identity in collaboration with Syrian designers.
WHAT COMES NEXT
- Raise $20,000 to pay rent for the coming year, buy the remaining furniture and equipment needed––such as a freezer, bread slicer, and dough sheeter––and install the mezzanine level at the back of the shop for additional seating space.
SUPPORT US
We are relying on the collective power of community to fund this social enterprise project. Please consider making a donation today.
How you can help:
- Donate money. This project will not see the light without your donations. Your support will allow us to open a community space that Syrians need and deserve. Consider making a donation today.
- Donate books. Books are expensive, especially for a population that is just emerging from 14 years of war in a country still reeling from the effects of years of crippling economic sanctions. To learn more about the kinds of books we are interested in, and how you can donate, please reach out to almanhaldamascus@gmail.com.
- Donate artworks and other things we can sell. Whether at al-Manhal itself or at one of our fundraisers, we would love to be able to sell an artwork or something that you have made or that you would be happy to donate, in order to invest the money we make from it in Al-Manhal.