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..

Bazazeen..

I was on my way to work, walking down the long bending street, when she crossed the road right in front of me, in lazy short step.. a beauuutiful grey little (bazzoona) ..she was so small, so cute.. that i really smiled watching where she was going, to the other side where there stands a big trash can .. she was a beautiful dark grey, her eyes round with a strange mixture of green-grey .. i thought to myself : bazzoona! shghad helwaa.. as if she heard what i was thinking, she gave me a charming look , as if saying : thank u, yes i know im beautiful..
i always liked to watch bazazeen.. never had one at home, i dont feel i can take care of one , but always loved watching them..
i remember one day in college, 2 colleagues were discussing (dogs and cats), the 1st said : i like dogs better, they r faithful, really friendly.. cats r ungrateful..u feed her, give her shelter, but u never gain her loyalty.. the 2nd said: why do u blame the cat for having a strong personality?..u cant buy her with food ..not like the dog who has no personality of his own, does only what is asked of him.. in my opinion.. such a weak personality ..
real funny words..
a realtive of mine had a great passion for cats, she had 2 of them at a time, beautiful and (mdanfosha) .. the bazzoona was called Fattoom, the bazzoon was called Ghawwar, after the famous tv series at the time..they were both so freindly and attention seekers, they would jump into yr lap once u sit down.. they were really adorable..
one little bazzoona, brought more memories of the days i miss.. the days that will never come back.. they have become only memories..like in another life..we only need one small incident to go back in time.. to the ppl we love and miss, to baghdadna that we love and miss..

Tamor - Nabogh Ajam

I was never much of a (Tamor) fan,, lately i have become one.. after reading all these articles about its great benefits..
Anyway, i have become in the habbit of trying out new kinds every now them, buying them from the near by market which has Every kind of fruit to please all tastes..
the other day, a new pack attracted my attention, the package was very neat, and i thought to myself (it would be very handy later on) .. the Tamor packed inside, was of medium size, pale brown, sort of dry and wrinkled..
Now the nice surprise was when i tasted it.. it had the wonderful taste of Nabogh Ajam.. does anybody remeber Nabogh Ajam??
when we were little, in primary school, the wondering salesmen would be standing next to the schhol gate, waiting for us to come out, their (Arabana)s supplied with all our joyful needs, Shaar Banat(cotton candy), ice cream, Shameyya(pop corn), Habb(melon seeds).. etc..
My favourite was Nabogh Ajam (that i dont know in English).. we would come out of school and at once gather around them , asking for all kinds of Namnameyat they have, in exchange for our little pocket money .. (mine at the time was 1 Derham, then was increased to Meet Filis)..
strangely enough we could buy all sorts of things with our little daily Masroof, teher was always enough to buy us a small pack of Shameyya, or a handful of Habb.. or a small bar of Nastala (chocolat)..
My favourite was always Nabogh Ajam (that, i dont know in English) .. but i know it had the most wonderful taste of fruit.. the salesman would weigh a certain amount and sell to us in small brown paper bags.. very small brown paper bags, they dont exist anymore..
if anyone ever tasted that Nabogh, he would know what im talking about..
I asked the iraqis i know, no one remembered it.. they didnt know what im talking about..
is it possible that its only me who keep having things to remind me of Iraqna and our beloved Baghdad? the happy old days of primary school?
well, the Tamor proved to have another benefit , it took me back in time ..to the joyful days that will never come back ..
i will go eat some more Tamor-Nabogh Ajam..

Baghdad Sky

It was a very clear night..
i went out for a walk.. the air was fresh, a little chill in the air..
i raised my head to the sky.. the incredible beauty of thousands and thousands of stars, bright, glowing ..i then noticed a particular triangle of rather large gleaming threesome.. at once i went back in time to when i was a little girl, lying in my summer bed,, in Baghdad.. on the roof..
when there was no war.. no fright.. the night was a wonderful trip for us (children) in summer time, we would wait for it eagerly.. with its wonderful rituals.. unpacking the mattresses, the steel beds set in the right position to avoid the early sunlight..
i used to lay on my bed, my sister in the next bed, we would chat of nothing, watching the beautiful stars, enjoying the nice coolness of the sheets.. we never wanted to fall asleep, the sky was too beautiful for us to close our eyes .. every night my mother would prepare our beds for us, we never needed her or my father to remind us of bed time.. in summer we loved to go to bed , on the roof.. to lie under the enchanting stars.. there was that same triangle of stars, my sister and i decided to call it ours..at that age we felt it was lit exactly for us..
how many years back was that?? when the night sky in Baghdad was just a beautiful night sky? designed with spotlights of stars?? it must be ages ago..
how sad that we can never forget,, no sky will ever be like (our sky) .. no stars will be like our stars.. is it just me ? or are all Iraqis like that??
i suppose all of them are.. at least the (sodogh iraqiyeen) ..
none of us will ever forget (Nomtel Satteh)..
how close the stars looked just now..
how far our sky seems..
will we ever see it again?? our sky?? our triangle??