Madinat el Alaab..

The trip to Madeenat el Alaab was always something else.. something special..
We would plan going there for days, once parents announce that they r taking us as we have been v good and (Eqqal) lately, or as a reward for high marks , or just for fun..
I still remember the entrance with its 3 Tall Green (Baqlawa shaped) columns, welcoming us to the land of dreams..
Once we arrive, we run (we navere walked at the time I believe) towards the balloon man , my sister and I, each would choose her favorite color of Noffakha , and we so start our joyful journey with raised heads looking up at our colored Noffakhat with its long thread tied around our little wrists..
First stop would b definitely (Doodat el Qazz), I think that’s what it was called or was it some other kind of worm ?! (a long chain of small seats ,we would sit each two in a seat, with laughing faces of (doodat el qazz) in front of us, we press the face with our small hands and it would Beep or do some funny sound, I don’t know why it was so much fun.. the chain of seats would just go round and round in a small circle, and that's it.. but it was great fun.. we never stopped laughing ..happy innocent laughs.. we were carefree..
My next favorite was the Arabayen pulled with colored horses, that one I loved so much, I would feel like Im riding in a real carriage, they would be run over a certain track round and round and we would get off finally feeling happy and full of independence as we were leading the horses ourselves..
Next there would b my sister's favorite, that’s the Flying Helicopters (al Taerat el Moqatelat), full of colors, and again in front of us there would be a handle or something like a steel arm, u push it to rise, and pull it back to land.. (driving a helicopter was so easy, I thought at the time.. )..
My parents would always be waiting for us patiently, holding our Noffakhat for us, feeling happy just to watch us as we had a good time..
These r the 3 ones I most remember clearly about Madinat el Alaab.. when I look back now, I can see how modern and up to date it was at that time, with its various entertainments.. we were lucky to have it at the time.. it held so many memories of our childhood..
The fine stop would be at the funny mirrors.. where u look at yr image deformed.. we would stand in front of it and move left and right , jump up and down, to become v fat, or v thin, or with a big head and small body, etc.. and we would laugh and laugh till parents tell us, its time to leave.. we never wanted to leave..
They added a few new things in the later years but I never found them any fun.. or maybe we simply grew older and the spell was broken..
I wonder what have become of it now.. I wonder if the Green Tall Columns do still exist.. It was a magic place for us, a fairy land..where happiness was so easy to capture.. and joy was always a short step away..

Nakhla Irakiyya..

I was in French class the other day, it is in fact an Atelier , it is supposed to make us practice our language and become more fluent, (which I fail to be)..
The subject for discussion for that day was : What if Dreams can come True..?
So here goes :
What if u can make Only One wish come true? (Have back my Watan - Iraq ..).
What if u were to solve One problem in this world ? (War, Occupation, and Ghurba) .. (they sound all just One to me) .
If I were to be a plant, What Plant would I choose to be ? ( Nakhla Iraqiya – an Iraqi Palm Tree).. (I always feel our Nakhal is different, it really is).. for me it resembles Perfection in every way .. subhan Allah ..
I then noticed that it was only me who always gave replies to do with War, Watan, Iraq, etc..
My colleagues gave all kinds of answers :
Voyager around the world , buy a Porsche , buy a Fancy villa , solve the Famine in Africa, solve the Water problem, marry a Millionaire, be very Rich, buy a Yacht, cure Cancer, Cure Aids, solve the Pollution problem, solve Child Abuse problems, etc..
I thought to myself is it only me or is it all of us Iraqis who cant take Iraq out of our minds for one minute? Cant stop connecting everything to Iraq?
When I heard their replies I felt so isolated, here r people who haven’t been through wars, who haven’t suffered from loss of a dear one, who haven’t lost their precious memories, the memories that in fact construct a whole life, a Real life.. life is not to work, eat and go to sleep, life is to have a Real home, to have a Watan..
So, to buy a Porsche would b their utmost wish, or to own a villa ..etc.. (well at least some of them did think of solving real problems), but I still felt different , like coming from a different world, or another planet maybe.. (indeed, a planet called Iraq)..
Iraq is like one big, colored, cocoon that surrounds me w its kind arms, like a mother's .. I Cant get out of it, I Don’t want to get out of it.. I love the feelings it showers me with, the sense of security I can find no where else..
I see the whole world, (my whole world that is) through Iraq.. my Iraq..Iraqna, our real joy and glory, our deepest wound..
The Atelier ended .. we went home..
If only Dreams can come true..