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7. A baker and his flatbread

There is an Afghan baker near the camp where you can buy fresh bread every day, except on Fridays. While the flatbreads are in the oven, they are moistened several times with green tea. This is quite straight forward; the baker just takes some sips of tea in his mouth and sprays the tea on the bread. This generates the necessary humidity for the bread. At the end, the bread is sprinkled with salt, which gives them a spicy touch.

Despite of this unusual production method, it had become a tradition for us soldiers to eat there together every Saturday evening, and on this occasion this bread is eaten with pleasure. Additionally, we also put some specialties from home on the table.

It is actually very idyllic sometimes, which one probably cannot imagine. We sit at our table in front of our hut protected by trees and shrubs. In front of us on the table are the fresh flatbread, sliced bacon and ham from the black forest as well as homemade canned liver sausage, smoked blood sausage and fresh paprika, cucumbers and garlic.

We do this every Saturday evening with the COY commander, the first sergeant and other comrades. For a short time, it feels like holiday and we forget that we are on a mission in a war-torn land.