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3 Reasons Why We Should Stop Calling It Lahmajo(Un)?

by Contributor
December 27, 2018
in Armenia, Latest, News, Top Stories
40
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Aintab style Lahmajoun (Photo by Ani Kalafian)
Aintab style Lahmajoun (Photo by Ani Kalafian)

BY SARKIS RSHDOUNI
Special to Asbarez

Every culture on this planet has their own ethnic cuisine, however, it is hard to believe that there is one type of food represented by one specific culture, in this day and age.

As I, being part Armenian, part Assyrian, and part Greek, born and raised in the eastern part of Syria; the Lower Mesopotamia, and Aleppo, the heaven of Middle Eastern cuisine, literally, I had the chance to eat wholeheartedly all types of food and national and ethnic cuisines, such us, of course Western Armenian, Assyrian, Levantine, Arabic, Mediterranean and more. Even with all these options at my disposal, I chose to become a vegetarian at the age of 14, perhaps a very rare commitment in Syria.

Since my graduation from Yerevan State University, Faculty of History, it was my obsession to find the origins and etymology of not just language, but actual titles and colloquialism of all the dialects of Armenian used today. Hence, I started with one of the most popular and loved foods of the Armenian culture: LAHMAJO(UN).

I have come across several blogs, articles, and personal testimonies regarding “Lahmajo,” with the word being of Arabic in origin, whilst the actual food is not. I have concluded in my extensive research that the food that we call “Lahmajo(un)” has spiritual pagan origins dating back to the late Iron Age 900-650 BC, at the very least. Allow me to explain further starting with:

Authentic Ingredients
Flour, water, salt, ground meat, baked into a thin crust in a pit oven, known as Tandoor or Tonir.

It is very obvious that the thin crust was inspired by Lavash itself and the meat was beef, to be more specific, it was HEIFER (young cow, not calf).

The reader must wonder, why Lavash and why heifer meat?

The Answer goes back circa 2100 years ago, during the Artashesian reign (Artaxiad Dynasty).

Lahmajo made in Armenia. (Photo by Danica Harootian)
Lahmajo made in Armenia. (Photo by Danica Harootian)

Why Lavash? Lavash is the most sacred food among the Armenian people through out history. Making Lavash is a sacred ritual that requires a lot of dedicated physical work and back in the ancient times it was committed only by women. Armenian women solely dominated the Lavash making tradition, and the reason behind it is simply very obvious; women represent the Godess Anahit’s elements, traits, and divine feminine energy, where the Tonir oven represents the womb creating and birth-giving in this world and thus they have the blessing of Goddess Anahit to prepare the main part of their food, which is the bread of life. Lavash also used to be given as gifts and offerings to Goddess Anahit during rituals and holidays as a symbol of fertility and prosperity and even protection.

Armenian Historian Hamazasp Khachatryan explains this in his book titled “A Form Of Worshipping Goddess Anahit in Ancient Shirak,” where he states firsthand accounts of Greek Historian Plutarchus (1st century AD) witnessing the heifer as the main animal sacrifice to Goddess Anahit in the province of Shirak. The other provinces where temples of Goddess Anahit existed had similar types of sacrifices.

We can conclude and assume that this specific type of sacrificial meat that was only used in Lahmajo(un) was a ceremonial food. Taking into consideration, ancient Armenians’ daily nutrition was majorly based on grains, bread, dairy, and herbs, meat was exceptional, consumed mainly by the noble class and during rituals and holidays for commoners.

Etymology/Terminology
LAHM bi-Ajeen (Arabic), LAHM-ACHUN (turkish) literally means meat with dough. If “Lahmajo(un)” was an Arabic/Levantine invention then why wouldn’t they have a proper name for it? Example, Italians don’t call their Pasta “boiled dough,” they have a name for it. If we think “Lahmajo(un)” was translated directly from an Armenian name, we would be wrong, because in Armenian it would have been “khmorov mees or meesov khmor”, that just doesn’t sound right, Armenians are more traditionalists with their food and names.

Taking into consideration, “Lahmajo(un)” was introduced to northern Syria, state of Aleppo in the late 19th century, and that was mainly through the Armenians of Aintab and Urha and Cilicia regions who moved to Aleppo for merchant businesses, trade, and work, where Armenians became the masters of crafts and the food industry in general. It’s no surprise that Armenians started naming “lahmajo(un)/lahmajeen” for their Arabic and turkish speaking clients to make their product more appealing and easy to order.

During my research, I came across of two Armenian colloquial terms that could be close to “Lahmajo(un)” which are “M’salosh – Մսալօշ and M’sashot – Մսաշոթ”. With that said, the two titles are still a direct translation from “Lahmajo(un),” “mees” is meat and “losh” is Lavash, and “shot/շոթ” couldn’t find an official meaning for it which still explains the ingredients rather than the concept.

Cultural Aspect
Let’s check with Arab of the Levant and those who turkified the Arabic word “Lahmajo(un).” In Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine “Lahmajo(un) is not consumed by the main populations, only by the minority Armenian Diaspora. From Aleppo is where the “Lahmajo(un) got its unique style that became more popularized with the greater Diaspora community around the world that now use pepper based spices and etc. Aleppo is famous with its chili pepper flakes and paste, and in Beirut is made little bit differently, but overall it is the same style and concept of the same ancestral “Lahmajo(un)”. In Damascus, probably in late 40’s “lahm bi-ajeen” became a popular street food, as a matter of fact, Damascenes have a similar food, similar in concept and ingredients but smaller in size, called “S’fiha – صفيحة” (meaning flat), where I, personally think that is a gentrified version of the Armenian product.

The Proper Naming Solution:
Taking into account the popularity of “Lahmajo(un)” and its roots in Armenian History and heritage, the community at large should come up with an original name. Until a proper Armenian title of the beloved meat and bread combination is named, I suggest at the very least start calling it “M’salosh or M’sashot”, by doing so one would be removing the turkified Arabic title that is commonly used everyday.

When Armenians proudly introduce and feed “Lahmajo(un)” to their non-Armenian friends in their hospitable nature and tell them of its Armenian origins and maybe even call it an Armenian Pizza and be proud and all that, but that pride shatters down as soon as the non-Armenian person asks, what does “Lahmajo(un)” mean? And you stumble and sorrowfully say, it is Arabic or turkish. How ironic.

I call to all Armenian Historians, Historical Linguistics and Anthropologists to collaborate all together and find the original word for “Lahmajo(un)” and free our heritage from the unauthentic elements.

Contributor

Contributor

Next Post

Bizarre Turkish News: For the Amusement of Readers During the Holiday Season

Comments 40

  1. Ani Kalafian says:
    4 years ago

    Yes, lets collectively find a new name or dig deep to revive an old name for one of our most popular foods!

    Reply
    • Marguerite Ashdjian Vartanian says:
      2 years ago

      It is so strange few days ago there was discussion on social media I did respond Arabic lahmajoun as all call it is different I make now and then and I do call my American friends its Armenian pizza thank you for lightening the origin I will share

      Reply
  2. State of Emergency says:
    4 years ago

    Total nonsense. Lahmajo is a Russian Armenian concoction. No one outside of current day Armenia calls it “lahmajo”. It’s simply a colloquial misunderstanding of the word. Besides, almost every western Armenian food is named with Turkish descriptions, e.g., dolma (to fill), sarma (to wrap), boreg (patty), kufta, mante, etc. Coincidentally, Greeks call sarma as dolma to. They’re equally misinformed as to the origin and meaning of the word. How can sarma be filled? Shawarma is another mangling of the descriptive word. It’s çaverma in Turkish. literally meaning to shred. But somehow, it has evolved to shawarma in Arabic. In Germany locals there know lahmacun as Turkish food because of the large Turkish population. Since food can not be patented, all food is local until it enters a new geographical area. Only then can it be claimed by the first culture to introduce it.

    Reply
    • Sirpuhi says:
      3 years ago

      I don’t agree with your statements.

      Let’s not forget that Turkish is a very mixed language. They’ve borrowed a lot of words from Armenian and Arabic. They also have lots of modern words in French (mid half to end of 20th century). They use the French word and most Turks wouldn’t even know the words they use come from the French language. Lately, new terms from the 21st century are being copied from English and presented and used as if they were native Turkish words in Turkey.

      Take for example, the words for appetizer in Turkish (taken from Greek), or words for pepper (taken from Armenian), for a Turkish native, they claim Greek/Armenians copied those words but they are ancient and old words in their respective languages. Just because you borrow another languages word and have a meaning for it in your language doesn’t make what it represents your own.

      Another example not related to food, is that Turks use the word khatch (cross in Armenian). They’ve Turkified the spelling of the word and used that word for centuries and claim its a Turkish word since they’ve used it for 800+ years. However, we all know that it is in fact an Armenian word dating back millennia.

      If you study etimology, you’ll understand what I’m trying to say.

      Now for the article, it is very interesting and plausible. Let’s not forgot that a lot of history was lost during the genocide. We’re still finding documents and historical data for things we never even knew we had.

      Reply
      • Sona Lakhoyan says:
        2 years ago

        enjoyed reading your point of vue !

        Reply
  3. Վռամ says:
    4 years ago

    I have a better suggestion: Let’s all boycott eating Lahmajo / Lamajo / Lamajun until the Armenian government denounces these foreign words and declares February 29 “Day of Me-sa-shot”! Take a step!

    Reply
    • Anoush says:
      2 years ago

      I am afraid you would have to boycott everything and starve to death. 😛

      Reply
  4. Lara says:
    4 years ago

    I love learning about the origins of food and the etymological lineage of words! Thank you for this article and its timely publication, as today’s episode of Armenian Enough’s podcast features a discussion of this very topic!

    Reply
    • Sarkis Rshdouni says:
      4 years ago

      Thank you for your supportive feedback and can you share with me a link to that discussion?. I’d love to share it with my folks as well.
      rshdouni@gmail.com

      Reply
  5. Dr. Sylva Portoian says:
    4 years ago

    Better not to change its original name …
    “Lahim-be-ajeen” …never Turkish it is Arabic …
    from the Middle East, Lebanese or Palestinian mostly not Syrian
    as far as I can tell…

    Reply
    • Sarkis Rshdouni says:
      4 years ago

      What do you mean ?

      Reply
    • RJK says:
      4 years ago

      it’s neither Arabic nor turkish – it’s Armenian.

      Reply
  6. Ari says:
    4 years ago

    An absolutely great point, we (Armenians) MUST “free our heritage from the unauthentic elements.”

    Let’s begin by renaming our foods and MOST importantly make Western Armenian the official language of the Republic. Every time I hear our fellow Armenians using the Russified and Farsified version of our precious mother language, I get jittery.

    Reply
    • Novellian says:
      2 years ago

      I’m all with you 100% ! I couldn’t agree with you more. I have thinking and saying this for long time. I personally don’t find Armenian spoken in Armenia very attractive or pleasant sounding to the ear at all. Specially, when spoken rather harshly with heavy emphasis on the letter “R”:) too rough and rude sounding. Nothing pleasant about it at all. And while we are at it, we should also make a great deal of efforts to change our Turkish derived names. Which I frankly think some of the last names are downright ridiculous and embarrassing. Armenians want to be identified more with Europe and boost tourism? Then, they must try to simplify our names and learn and master these two languages, English and French better than any of their neighbors.

      Reply
  7. Sassoun says:
    4 years ago

    Dolma, sarma, suboreg, ishlikofte… Tshpaghtapar mer ampoghch djasheroun anounnere odar lezvov ge gochenk.
    Nouynisk aboukhd ou yershik eselou degh basterma soujoukh gsenk…

    Reply
  8. Armen Mehrabian says:
    4 years ago

    Please visit our webpage and find Armenian Food Culture monograph, would be helpful.
    For any question and support pease fill free to contact me Dr.Armen Mehrabyan

    Reply
    • Sarkis Rshdouni says:
      4 years ago

      Hello
      I’m Sarkis Rshdouni, the author.
      Can you exchange contacts with me? Please drop me an email with your webpage.
      rshdouni@gmail.com

      Reply
  9. Arpineh says:
    4 years ago

    I love this article

    You had me at
    Why Lavash? Lavash is the most sacred food among the Armenian people through out history.

    Reply
  10. Marguerite says:
    4 years ago

    I allways thought it’s called mesashot

    Reply
  11. Luci says:
    4 years ago

    Very well said, and what a great idea. Thank you for the Armenian words replacing the Arabic /Turkish word for our beloved Armenian food. As of today I’ll start using “msalosh”. It’s easy enough to remember if one speaks Armenian. I always wondered why our food had Arabic name, it was explained to me this way: after the Armenian genocide when the survivors settled in Syria in big numbers, some of those survivors went into bakery business, and that’s why all bakery (fourn) owners , were Armenian, because msalosh was baked in the same bakery (fourn) where bread ( pitta) was baked daily, somehow they-bakery owners named it lahmajeen.

    Reply
  12. Diana Sarkissian says:
    4 years ago

    Thank you very much for
    Clarifying the origin of
    Lahmajoun I was always
    Curious where did it come
    And how did it get the name.

    Reply
    • Sarkis Rshdouni says:
      4 years ago

      Thank you for your kind and supportive feedback.

      Reply
  13. herayer says:
    4 years ago

    LAHMAJUN (LAHEM WA AJEEN) MEANS= MEAT AND BREAD-DOUGH THE ARABS CALL IT SFEEHA BUT THEY MAKE IT DIFFRENT WITH THICK DOUGH MEAT AND PINE NUTS THE ARMENIAN VERSION IN VERY THIN DOUGH AND SPICY MEAT WITH TOMATO MY FAMILY IS ORIGINALLY FROM AINTAB AND THEY LOVED TAKING THE DOUH AND PREPARED MEAT TO THE LAHMAJUN BAKER TO BAKE IN HIS SPECIAL LAHMAJUN WOOD OVEN IN JERUSALEM THE WAIT WAS WORTH IT IT WAS DELICIOUS

    Reply
    • RJK says:
      4 years ago

      Who cares how you and your parents cooked it – the point is that it’s not called “lahmajoun”.

      Reply
  14. Alexan says:
    4 years ago

    Sorry but this is incredibly stupid. Are we going to go through our lexicon and start removing all the words whose etymology rubs us wrong? Let’s not even begin to discuss the topic of the Russification of Armenian… Armenian, like ALL living languages, has a rich vocabulary for a reason. Take a minute to study historical linguistics if you need. If you take out every word from Armenian that is not Urartian in origin, you will be close to left with just the most rudimentary vocab and some mostly ancient place names in Armenia… I am 100% Armenian and adore our culture and especially our language – and speak it fluently – but I am not going to start messing with words like Lahmajoun… Freedom fries anyone?

    Reply
    • Sarkis Rshdouni says:
      4 years ago

      Great, that’s absolutely your right. For some lahmajun naming is more Armenian than msalosh.

      Reply
  15. Sevan says:
    4 years ago

    Good research. Thanks for the article.
    If the names you came across during your research are Msashot or Msalosh, it might mean that this the way it was called name. Therefore I do not see a reason why we should invent a new name.
    P.S. My mother called it Msashot and I learned that name from her.

    Reply
    • Sarkis Rshdouni says:
      4 years ago

      Thank you for your supportive feedback and yes I agree with you, but however I’m sure there was a short slang or dialectic name for it and why not to find it, or recreate it.

      Reply
  16. Hrant says:
    4 years ago

    Really interesting research! Would you share the recipe for the vegetarian lahmajo

    Reply
    • Sarkis Rshdouni says:
      4 years ago

      Thanks your for your supportive feedback. I apologize I can’t sahre the ingredients with you for 2 simple reason, first, I don’t know what are the exacts ingredients and scales and second, it’s only passed to female family members of the family.

      Reply
  17. Ellie says:
    4 years ago

    I have always called it “Hyepie!” Authentically Armenian

    Reply
  18. Anna Grigorian says:
    4 years ago

    Great research article, but I am not entirely convinced that lahmajoun is Armenian by origin. If it had been, then it would have had an original Armenian name for it. Unless, the Armenian creators of it didn’t speak any Armenian. It’s possible, but who knows for sure!

    Reply
    • Sarkis Rshdouni says:
      4 years ago

      Thank you for your kind words and I understand your point of view and to be frank I thought the same when I was still a scholar but however, the majority of our folklore heritage got lost or destroyed during the centuries by so many events and it wouldn’t be surprising if we lost the proper original naming then. Also, the nations and races neighboring ancient Armenia did not have tonir nor lavash, hence that makes it more unique and original to the Armenian kitchen.

      Reply
  19. Thomas Milo says:
    3 years ago

    The Italian word pasta means ʿaǧīn عَجِين, or dough, so the argument is not valid. The called that kind of food just “paste” or dough. It is interesting that the Arabic ʿaǧīn عَجِين turns up in Turkish as “lahmacun” (pronounced lahmajoon, not “LAHM-ACHUN”). The Redhouse dictionary explains that “lahmacun” has an older version “lahmül’acîn” لحم العجين, without the bi بِـ of modern Arabic. This suggests that it’s an older Arabic word in Turkish, and these almost without exception were borrowed from Persian without direct contact with Arabs. Conclusion: this analysis is thought-provoking, but not well enough researched for publication. A lot of additional linguistic and historical analysis is necessary.

    Reply
  20. Armen Mehrabyan says:
    3 years ago

    One I comment on this article but nobody contact to me.
    If you really want to help to rehabilitate or rediscover Armenian Food Culture, then you should support to your local Armenian Communities, Food Epicurean and Enthusiast make it happen.
    Now the real name of Lahmajo : Armenian call it Bdjig and yuo can find it in many regional Cook Books where aremania lives (unfortunately Genocide change the history and our culture too), but you can find it in many cookbooks too. One of the beautiful source I like about Armenia is compatriots of Armenia who developed http://www.haushamadyan.org. The link for Lahmaju recipies is https://www.houshamadyan.org/mapottomanempire/vilayetofmamuratulazizharput/kaza-of-arapgir/lochal-characteristics/foods.html

    You can also find in my book about several type os Armenian Breads (out of 120 varieties of Armenian Breads we rehabilitate 80 with full recipes and history, including origin of grains that were used for flour….) You can find the Armenian Food Culture in y slideshare page for free

    Reply
  21. Maral Erzroumian says:
    3 years ago

    I totally agree with you!!

    Reply
  22. Tracy Keeney says:
    3 years ago

    Hmmmm….. I’m not sure how I feel about this. I totally understand the thought process… but what happens 50, 80, 100 years down the road, when Armenians don’t know what “Lahmajun” is, and they’re reading books, family or village histories, reading about Medz mama’s journal about being in the kitchen making “Lahmajun” or Medz hayring having a well known corner shop making “Lahmajun”, and no one knows what it is?

    As a genealogist, I tend to look at things from the perspective of the future. Our histories are already hard to trace — and not just from the death and family separation caused from the genocide. The changing of surnames has a lot to do with it, too.

    I hear often about the push for people in the diaspora to continue to speak Armenian, to write in the Armenian alphabet, to teach their children to do the same for the very purpose of preserving it for future generations. And I understand that.

    But EVERY language adopts words from other languages. It doesn’t always have to do with oppression and force. Half of the words in this very article are “borrowed” from other languages.

    The very first sentence alone — “Every culture on this planet has their own ethnic cuisine, however, it is hard to believe that there is one type of food represented by one specific culture, in this day and age.”

    “Culture” is a FRENCH word. “Cuisine” is a FRENCH word. “Type” is a FRENCH word. “Represent” is a FRENCH word. “Specific” is a FRENCH word. “Age” is a FRENCH word.

    And that’s just the first sentence!! We could be here ALL DAY doing this.

    Should we come up with our own “uniquely” English words for all these? For what purpose? Moreover, 100 years from now, if we DID change all those words, would any English speaking person understand that sentence?

    My grandmother was 100% Armenian. She spoke Armenian. She called it Lahmajun. Her mother called it Lahmajun and she ONLY spoke Armenian. If those who LIVED through the atrocities called their own beloved food “Lahmajun”, even when they were speaking Armenian, and didn’t feel some compelling drive to change the name to something else, then who are we– 100 years later, completely free from the troubles they endured, free from anyone “forcing” us to speak a different language- to change the name of a BELOVED food tradition that THEY THEMSELVES embraced? And how will the generations AFTER us be able to read and understand our histories, much less the histories of those who’ve gone before us, if we’ve changed half the vocabulary out of spite?

    Reply
  23. Truthteller says:
    2 years ago

    Guys I have to be honest with you all and the topic starter. If we go by the name used for the dish it’s obviously Arabic. You need to source your statements that Armenian sellers chose the Arab variant to sell the dish, this is just a sad attempt and pure nationalism that clouds the judgement. It’s obviously a Levantine Arab dish. Just like Dolma is Turkish in origin. Names for dishes almost most of the time give away their origins. Even many Turks agree it is Arab in origin and that it before becoming widespread in Turkey it was only known in South Eastern Turkey around Urfa and Gazientep where many Arabs live.

    Reply
    • David says:
      2 years ago

      Your comment does not make any sense. The etymology of a word does not always correlate to the origin of a dish, it gives a hint, but no historian would use it as a definite evidence of its origin. Vinegret comes from French vinaigrette, yet it is a salad which you will find only in Russia, Croatian Rafioli come from the word Ravioli, but it has nothing to do with Italian Ravioli and just because the word köfte/kafta comes from Persian, does not mean that Balaban köfte, Malai kofta or chiftele de ciuperci mutate into a Persian dish, because they differ significantly from the Persian kofteh recipes. Dolma refers to anything that is filled and the fact that Armenians lived for so long under Turkish rule, it is not a surprise that they have adopted the word, however the Lebanese and Egyptians call stuffed vine leaves warq anab or mahshi, even though they were also ruled by the Ottomans. Bulgarians say for money “pare” which is from Turkish, this does not mean that Bulgarians did not know what money is prior to the Ottoman conquest or that their money is Turkish, lol. Sorry, but stuffed cabbage, stuffed peppers, stuffed aubergines, stuffed tomatoes exist in so many countries across the globe under different names and Turks did not introduce neither cabbage (lahana is a Greek term), nor aubergines (patlican is an Arabic term), nor tomatoes (which are from South America and the term is Italian) nor peppers (from South America where they also make stuffed peppers and the word biber is a Greek term). There are also different variations of dishes called “dolma”. Vişneli dolmasi is definitely Turkish (even though vişne is a Slavic term), pasuts tolma is definitely Armenian, sirin kelem dolma (kelem and sirin are Persian terms) is for sure Azeri and Dolme ye Beh is for sure Persian, why? Because those dishes are only to be found in those respective countries, the word “dolma” or “vişne” or “kelem” are irrelevant there.

      Reply
  24. Suzie Abajian says:
    2 years ago

    I disagree with the author on one point. We don’t need to change the name to make it feel like our own. The name that is a Turkified Arabic name also tells the story of our people. It’s a part of who we are.

    Reply

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    Compliance status

    We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability.

    To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.

    This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.

    Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML, adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.

    If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email

    Screen-reader and keyboard navigation

    Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements, alongside console screenshots of code examples:

    1. Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website. In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels; descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups), and others. Additionally, the background process scans all of the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology. To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on as soon as they enter the website.

      These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.

    2. Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside of it.

      Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

    Disability profiles supported in our website

    • Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
    • Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
    • Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
    • ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
    • Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
    • Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

    Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments

    1. Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
    2. Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over 7 different coloring options.
    3. Animations – epileptic users can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
    4. Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
    5. Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
    6. Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
    7. Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.

    Browser and assistive technology compatibility

    We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers), both for Windows and for MAC users.

    Notes, comments, and feedback

    Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs, there may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to