HW41 Dates and Evening tea
After reading this section in Baghdad Burning I have learned a lot about the Iraqi culture and many things that they do or have that are important to them. One thing that I learned was why the date palms are so important to the Iraqi people. They are so important for many reasons, one being that “just seeing the orchards brings a sort of peace.”(Riverbend,103) The farmers take pride in their date palms because they are so beautiful looking and now that they are being cut down they are very unhappy. The date palms are also important to the Iraqi people because they are resourceful. In the summer they provide tons of dates for eating and they can store them also for later times. Every part of the palm tree can be used, the dates for syrup or just for eating and the leaves to make things, such as baskets. Riverbend’s favorite part is also using the pits of the dates to make beads. Another part of the Iraqi culture that I have learned about is the custom of evening tea in Iraq. I have learned that most of the families sit around every-night and drink tea. “No matter how busy the day, everyone sits around in the living room, waiting for tea.”(Riverbend, 108) I feel that it is a sense of comfort and coming together for them since everything is so horrible and hectic for them. {The tea is a three part process, first they put the kettle on the stove to boil, then tealeaves and the boiling water are put into another pot and put on another part of the stove until the tealeaves rise to the top, as to an almost boil. After that the teapot is put on the tea kettle and sits there to settle, then the tea is served in 8 shaped glasses.}(Riverbend, 108-109) They sit there ans talk about their days but they are not like a normal day, they talk about different topics that are going on. Reading this section I have learned a great deal about the Iraqi culture and hope to keep learning more as I keep reading.
