Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Motar Baghadad w Sopat aladdin w Hadiqat Betna..

The weather suddenly changed.. without previous warning it turned from sunny with a bit of cool air, to gloomy with cold wind and dark grey clouds ..i thought to myself looking at the sky : would it rain?? i dont smell rain in the air (i always felt i could smell rain before it actually rains)..i love rain.. i love watching it, i love being out when its pouring, i love the scent it has.. in Baghadad, the rain had a differnt scent..tabaan no other rain but Baghadad rain would have it..its a wonderful mixture of humid dust and water.. my aunt used to laugh at me when i say while standing with a window open in the rain : reehat trab..not reehat matar.. i would say there is no such scent elsewhere , bas b baghadad..she would laugh and say : all rain smells the same..
i didnt know at the time there would come a time with me out smelling other (motar) than baghdad's.. ooof how i wish to b standing again behind the same open window, in our house back there..i would have the sopa lit (aladdin sopa ofcourse) with its khorafi warmth (no other sopa could replace aladdin sopa for me, uptill now..and yes, el sopa also had a special distiguished smell which i adore).. my room was on the 2nd floor, i would see the top of nakhlat el jeeran, part of their garden hidden with ashjar el portuqal, they had so many of them.. and the flower beds lined with all colors.. my mother had wahes in gardening too at the time, she used to bring shatlat and try new plants.. our hadiqa was so distiguished, no trees, just high rose bushes and exquisite kinds of plants with beautifully colored flowers.. my mother kept plants inside the house too.. green was all around us inside and out .. she took great pride in her garden..she would catch me picking a few roses everyday before qoing to work , so i would put them on my desk.. she would open the hall window and scolds me like a child saying : u left us no roses to look at.. and i would smile and say there r still many more left.. and run away with my wonderful treasure..it smelled incredibly beautiful .. subhan Allah was it only the roses in hadeeqtna that smelled different ? or was it the roses of another time ??..in Baghadad? ..
Allahhh .. Sopat aladdin w Nakhalat el jeeran wel Hadiqa w Betna.. wel Motar.. Motar Baghadad.. oooof shghad moshtaaaqaaa.. oooof..

12 comments:

Little Penguin said...

I've never lived in Iraq.. but from the way you describe it, it's a dream I am yet to fulfill.. it's endearing how you say that Baghdadi rain has a special smell.. it can't be the smell of traab.. it must be the rain! :)

I used to love rain too.. back in the days when it was pleasing to look at and stand under.. but London is always raining.. constantly pouring.. so you tend to get a bit gloomy about it all, especially when it hits your attic window very quickly, putting you off studying, or living altogether..

I miss the Baghdad I haven't lived in.. I miss the Baghdad my mother told me about.. I miss the nakhal and bortoqal grown in gardens.. I miss the old days..

Inshalla I'll live long enough just to see it again..

Yasmin (Blanche) said...

little penguin,
u have such a sweet way of expressing yr thoughts.. thank u for yr kind words..
i know what u mean ab getting gloomy from non stop rain.. i ve lived in UK for a while..
its touching how u seem to miss iraq and baghadad even though u havent been there..
i hope u fulfill yr dream one day..

Dreamer said...

I could actually smell Baghdad's rain when reading your post. I never appreciated it, I used to hate it when it rained.

Nevertheless we used to go out on our patio and stand under it with our mouths open trying to catch the droplets.

You will never see me doing something like that now, I run as fast as I can for shelter when it rains.

You made me smile with memories of good days.

Yasmin (Blanche) said...

Dear dreamer,
welcome to my blog..
im glad my post brought a smile to yr face and memories of the good days..i think we all share the need to keep memories fresh and colorful..
thank u for yr sweet words..

A&Eiraqi said...

Yasmin
oooooooooooof
You just keep reminding me with the wonderful things .

I madly like the rain, I like waklking in the rain , listening to Majda Al-Rumi or Raid George .
I used to walk in the rain regardless what people say about it.

I do so here as it rains alot .
Still, it's not like walking there , enjoying that smell.
I miss Baghdad, I miss people and everything .
I miss flowers which smell very nice .
I miss Iraq

Regards

Yasmin (Blanche) said...

dear a&e iraqi,
I know Wallah how deep is the oooof.. i told u.. the rain in baghdad just differs.. in fact, ev thing differs..
as for the scents and smells.. i cant even start to describe how special ev thing was in baghdad.. i dont understand why even the fruit would taste differnt , in fact tasteless, though they look wonderful and so very tempting, just one bite and u realize its tasteless.. the flowers, just the same..
what do u think a&e iraqi ? is ev thing really different outside iraqna? or is just us being children of nostalgia?..
i dont beleive we shall ever find the answer..

Little Penguin said...

Genetically Engineered Crops is the answer.. everything here is subjected to some sort of chemical treatment.. the raggi looks so ripe but it tastes like you're eating paper.. you know?

Everything is different back home.. the list is endless.. the rain too.. here, the rain is depressing and there's no smell.. back home, rain is good and it smells unique.. when it rains there it's like the sky is talking to you.. Iraq's sky rains blood now.. it is telling a very sad story..

Regards..

كريم المدون said...

مرحبه بلانش/ ياسمين

اول شي ضحكت هواية من شفت النومي حلو ...ههههههه...اخيرا

عنوان البوست الاخير لوحده لوحه فنية...حتى انو ينفع يكون عنوان رواية خطير

مطر بغداد و صوبة علاء الدين وحديقة بيتنا

يخببببببببببببببببببببببببببببل

اعجبتني جدا جملتك التالية

my aunt used to laugh at me when i say while standing with a window open in the rain : reehat trab..not reehat matar.. i would say there is no such scent elsewhere , bas b baghadad..she would laugh and say : all rain smells the same..

هي رائعة.... فيها ايحائية جبييييييييرة

بعد سنة من الان اني متأكد "النومي حلو " راح يصير مرجع رهيب للفلكلور العراقي المدهش


عاشت الايادي

Yasmin (Blanche) said...

little penguin,

U r right, that is the scientific explaination..indeed fruits taste like paper (brown paper too in my opinion) or wood fiber..
but i still think that its Us who cant find color or taste in anything outside Baghdadna and Iraqna..
V sad..

Yasmin (Blanche) said...

dear Kareem,

meet ahlan wa sahlan in my humble blog..
as always yr words r so kind and warm (just like yr darboona)..
im so happy to read yr words as u r Ostath fe fann el blog (No im not exaggerating.. all yr readers know that blv me)..
the memories nvr stop ,any incident , any small detail could take us in a trip back home..
what an agony..but still, an agony we never want it to stop, cause we nvr want to forget..
i hope noome heloo brings warmth and joy to all my Khottar..the (sodogh irakiyeen)..
thanks again for yr words..

ahmed said...

Very lyrical.

مدونة جميلة و لطيفة و شاعرية جدا...تستحق ان نتفكه بها
توفقت في اختيار النومي حلو كرمز للذكريات العراقية, فلا شي غيره يصف الكلمة الانكليزية بترسويت
bittersweet, indeed.

i'll add you to the Iraqi Blog Count now.

Yasmin (Blanche) said...

Konfused kid hi,

welcome to my blog..im glad u like it..im glad that noomee heloo brings u the same nice memories .. Thank u for yr kind words..
Ahalan wa Sahlan once more..