Syrian who fled civil war is back baking

A SYRIAN baker who fled the civil war after his shop and home were bombed is making pastries again for the first time in four years – for a Scottish cafe.

Nour Taleb, whose family ran a pastry shop in Albab, 40 miles north of Aleppo, since 1952, was forced to leave for Damascus in 2012 after heavy shelling devastated his home town.

From there, he took his wife and four children to a refugee camp in Jordan.

But now, four years after he last made pastries, he has started baking again, after being resettled in Scotland last May.

Sold at The Loft Cafe and Bakery in Haddington, East Lothian, his tiny hand-made pastries are selling like hot cakes – at a rate of almost 600 a day.

Mr Taleb, 38, said that his family, including his children aged 12, 11, nine and six, had settled well in Scotland.

He said: “I think it did take some time (for us to settle in) but eventually we felt very happy to be here. We do not think that there is anything strange or different to us about Scotland, apart from the weather.

“People are very welcoming, helpful and friendly. I feel very delighted about being able to work here, particularly that I will be doing what I am used to doing back home.”