If you’re served scrambled eggs in a clay bowl for breakfast at a guest house in Lebanon, chances are that bowl came from the pottery at Assia. This is one of the only places in the country that still uses traditional techniques to create a range of pots, bowls and dishes, using a combination of clay and salt stone ground together. The pots are easily recognised while you’re out and about around Lebanon as they are among the few that are unglazed, but because of the smoothing techniques the potters use as part of their unique process, the finished products have a beautiful shine to them.

A visit to the pottery to learn more about the craft can be organised while you are in the Batroun area. Visitors can either just drop by to have a chat and take a look at the workshop, or you can even try making your own piece and have some lunch here afterwards. This is a dying art in Lebanon, with fewer and fewer people making ceramics in this way, so it’s a special visit and vital for the local community.