NEWSLETTER

DHA IS FOR DHILAL
Al-Dhilal is a bus company that was once one of the most important means of transportation between Iraq and Jordan. Before the current war, as part of the sanctions, no airplanes were allowed to fly over Iraq. People had to use the desert highway to go to Jordan. It was a 1,000-kilometer trip, and it could take as much as a good 24 hours on the road to make it due to delays at the border. Also, because of the bad security situation, people sometimes prefer to use buses instead of the charter SUVs that started to operate on that road a couple of years before the war. It’s safer to be with 40 people because you’re less likely to be hijacked or attacked on your way out of Iraq.


AIN IS FOR ’ASHURAA
This is a Shia religious festival that was banned under Saddam Hussein’s reign. Shia get together once a year and put on a blood-soaked parade where men and boys chant and cut and beat themselves with chains as a reminder of their atrocious past. The Sunni/Shia split originated in southern Iraq a few hundred years after the prophet Mohammed died. At the time, the people of Karbala murdered and mutilated the prophet’s grandson Hussein. ’Ashuraa shows that the Shia are still not over it. It’s also practiced in Bahrain, Iran, and Lebanon.


GHAIN IS FOR KING GHAZI
The gay (and only) son of Iraq’s first king, Faisal I, this little prince was crowned at age 21 when his dad kicked the bucket in 1933. He took his hatred of the British (who had pulled the strings throughout his father’s rule) to its natural conclusion by buddying up with the Nazis, and helped support the Arab world’s first military coup d’état—against his own government. Much to the nation’s relief, he died in a suspicious sports car crash only six years into his reign.

Photo by Reuters

FAA’ IS FOR FERIDA
Ferida is a girl’s name. For some reason the names of the three brands of Iraqi beer are all girls’ names. Ferida means “unique” in Arabic, and she meets the requirement of a lot of Iraqi men: Available, strong, and cheap.


QAAF IS FOR QOOZI
Qoozi is a badass traditional Iraqi dish. It’s basically a mountain of rice prepared with a mix of spices that give it a funky taste and brownish color and is usually served with a whole roasted lamb on top. It’s the mother of all indigestion-causing meals. Qoozi is what people make for weddings and other important occasions. When my family used to invite people over and make qoozi, we planned it assuming that each guest would eat a good pound of meat and some two heaping plates of rice.


KAAF IS FOR KATHUM AL-SAHIR
Al-Sahir is a famous contemporary Iraqi crooner and sex symbol known for his trademark wailing-style singing. Kathum fled Baghdad after getting sick and tired of having to write songs about Saddam. He’s one of the biggest celebrities in the Middle East. He cut a track with Lenny Kravitz in 2003, but it bombed. He loves Baghdad and sings about it all the time.


MINO JIBILLA


TO BE CONTINUED:
THE VICE GUIDE TO IRAQ | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Next>

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