Our story
From a small sesame seed to a story of 150 years
Every sesame seed has a story. Ours began long before Beit Al Dimashqi had a name.
A craft passed from father to son
For around 150 years, making tahini has been part of our family. The craft was handed down from father to son in the alleys of Jerusalem’s Old City, where it was practised in small traditional shops.
Knowing good sesame, how to roast it and how to grind it is not learned from books. It comes from years of practice, generation after generation.
Why "Beit Al Dimashqi"?
In the heart of Old Jerusalem stands Bab Al-Amud, one of the city’s best known gates, historically called Damascus Gate. Our name, “the house of the Damascene”, ties us to that gate, to the Old City and to the place where our family’s craft grew.
For us the name is more than a brand. It is a bridge between the memory of a place and the ambition of the future.
Two partners, one vision
Bashar Saad Abdul Qader Al-Salhi
Founder and Partner
With Jerusalem roots and a family heritage in tahini and sesame of around 150 years, Bashar had the first vision for Beit Al Dimashqi: to turn inherited know how into a modern company that keeps the craft authentic.
Ayman Mohammad Hussein Mashareqa
Partner
Originally from Nablus, Ayman has been with Bashar since the first stages of the project, from studying the idea to planning, founding and developing the company.
Where Jerusalem and Nablus meet
The partnership joins two historic cities, each with its own crafts and traditions. From that meeting came our vision: heritage as a starting point for the future.
Our journey
[NEEDED: client to confirm the timeline. The catalog says 1931, the owner’s story says the company was founded in 2017, and the meeting notes say 2022.]
~150 years ago
Tahini making begins in the family, in Jerusalem’s Old City.
2017
Beit Al Dimashqi for Tahini and Halawa is founded.
2022
A new chapter: production in Jericho.
2024
An exhibition in Malaysia.
2025
Anuga in Cologne and the Abu Dhabi Date Palm Exhibition.
Authentic, and up to standard
Then
- Traditional flavour
- Hand tools and stone mills
- Craft experience
Now
- The same flavour, kept unchanged
- Automated roasting and grinding lines
- Continuous lab testing and food safety systems
Heritage we carry, a future we build
We believe preserving heritage does not mean staying in the past. It means keeping its essence and developing it for the future. That is why we bring together inherited craft and modern technology, authentic taste and standards of quality, hygiene and food safety.