HW:41 How the Culture In Iraq is Different
On the pages we had to read in Baghdad Burning Riverbend talks about some of the different customs in the Iraqi culture. Two of the different customs that I read about were the importance of date palms and the importance of evening tea. Riverbend talks about how date palms are found in Dhuluaya which is located near North Baghdad. On page 103 Riverbend quotes “Orchards in many areas of Iraq-especially central Iraq-are most like oases in the desert.” Riverbend says that a sweet syrup is produced from the date palms and many people use it for seasoning “Areg” which is an alcoholic drink.
Another very important custom to the Iraqi people is evening tea. This is a time for the family to sit down together and have a conversation. Riverbend says the families talk about everything from war startigies to politics. Riverbend quotes “It’s hardly formal as it sounds…No matter how busy the day, everybody sit in the living room waiting for tea.” I found this custom very interesting because in America we don’t really sit down with our families for tea. In America dinner is the time we do this so I thought it was interesting that in Iraq the practice the tea custom.