In Palestinian cuisine, couscous is known as maftoul, and it is one of the traditional staple foods. Maftoul is an Arabic word derived from the root "fa-ta-la," meaning "to roll or twist," which accurately describes the method of hand making maftoul by rolling bulgur with wheat flour.
Couscous is a traditional dish of steamed semolina, small granules made from durum wheat. It is a staple in many North African countries, and was known to the Nasrid royalty in Granada as well. In the 13th century, a Syrian historian from Aleppo made several references to couscous in his writings. Couscous was later brought from Syria to Turkey in the 16th century and is now eaten across southern Turkey.
The famous Couscous Festival is held annually in September in San Vito Lo Capo, Italy. In 2001, the late Chef Jacob Salbis won the first prize representing Palestine at this festival. In 2016, Chefs George Srour and Elias Basous jointly won the festival while representing Palestine. Additionally, every October the Maftoul Festival is held in the West Bank village of Birzeit, where women from 15 different Palestinian villages prepare couscous dishes in their traditional styles.