“There is nothing embarrassing about making a living. A job is a job. I respect them all.”
These are the words that perhaps best capture the kind of person Fateh is. “As a newcomer, I went through every job: loader, driver, perfume seller - you name it.” says Fateh, the owner of Arka, a beloved Syrian cafe in Sukhum.
Arka is a place with character - from its charismatic owner, and delicious food to aromatic cardamom coffee, eccentric cat Zara, and welcoming staff. It’s a cafe that draws you back again and again.
When I called Fateh to ask when he would be available for an interview. He said he is usually at Arka all day. But suggested that I come during his sacred hour before the work day begins, a quiet moment he spends alone with coffee and cigarettes.
Saturday. 9 o’clock in the morning. I arrive at Arka greeted by a smile and a complimentary cup of cardamom coffee - a drink I heard so much about. I let Fateh share his life story freely, asking only a few questions occasionally.
Fateh comes from a very special place, as he calls it, not far from the centre of Syria- a place where people from all over Syria would come to study. Education played an important role in his life.
Fateh mentions that in the 1960s people would go to the US to build life there. “But I chose a different path,- he says- I wanted to get an education and then come back to Syria. I love my homeland and would often debate with those who chose to leave.”
In 1978 he travelled to the USSR to study. He graduated from Moscow Power Engineering Institute. Fateh mentions that working as an engineer was impossible at the time because of low salaries so he had to find other ways of making a living.
Then he talks about his family, and his eyes sparkle It was during his last year of studies that he met his wife with whom they now have a big family with six children.
“It was love at first sight”, he recalls, “and in a year we got married. My wife is an English tutor. She would look after the children in the first half of the day while I was at work and then we would switch.”
He initially planned to return to Syria to live there with his family, as it is hard for someone with “warm genes” to adjust to the cold. He shared how he imagined that one day his children would have kids and send them over to their house to spend time with grandparents by the sea. But in 2015 the war started and the dream was ruined.
Slowly our conversation shifts towards how Fateh and his family came to Abkhazia. As it turned out, in 2020 while Fateh was working, his wife and children went to Sochi on holiday and decided to spend their last day of vacation in Abkhazia. They loved it so much that they decided to stay a bit longer and called Fateh to come join them. And the rest is history.
“I vividly remember crossing the border. It felt unreal, like I came to Syria- the climate, the small houses, the nature, the reverence of older people, mentality- so many things reminded me of home.” The initial plan was to buy a summer house and come to Abkhazia during holidays. But then COVID19 started and since the classes of the children were online, it gave the family an opportunity to come and stay in Abkhazia.
They decided to open a small business to pass the time. That’s how Arka came to be.
Arka is part of a community of small businesses on its street. I worked in a pottery studio nearby so I am no stranger to the warmth of Arka. Almost every day together with my colleagues I would get lunch from there. The charm of the street is in the community- there is always someone you can go to- whether you need a ladder, a change or some wine glasses. I was drawn to interview Fateh as I wanted to learn more about our beloved place. After we drank coffee, Fateh started talking about the strategy behind his business. The first thing that he mentioned was the importance of making food available. He shares an example of restaurants in Syria where the prices are kept low, so families can afford to have a dinner out together . That’s the spirit he wanted to create in Arka.
Arka has a self-service system. For Fateh, that’s part of making the place feel like home. “It’s like cooking delicious food for your siblings and then telling them to clean after themselves. We are selling food, not service.”
Fateh says for him Arka is not just a business, but rather an outlet - a thing for the soul. Fateh says the wish to go back to the warmth of home did come true in a way - simply in another geography.