Snow

If you look closely at the photo above, you will see spots in the sky... believe it or not, those spots are snowflakes! Yes, it is a rare sight in Erbil. Apparently, there was a day where it snowed in January or February in 2008; however, although I was here at the time, it seems I blinked and missed it. This time, a friend called and we hopped in a taxi to go take photos of snow at the citadel (there was a faint hope that the ground up there was colder and the snow might actually not have melted on contact).

Unfortunately, the snow stopped before we reached the citadel and we ended up just asking the driver to turn round and take us back home.

Trees of Ainkawa

Just like Canada! (Except that the trees in Canada aren't electric). Can't wait to see these all lit up some night soon...

No More Carp!

Yummy yummy, yesterday's dinner! 

Hawleris are no longer restricted to nasty bony freshwater carp. Last weekend, there were giant prawns from Basra on the menu... and this weekend, it is silver pomfret (zubaidi) from Kuwait. 

For those of you who want to try, get the nice man behind the counter to clean it for you. Leave the head on. Score each side 2 or 3 times and rub with lemon. Then fry in oil (it should be enough to come halfway up the sides of the fish) for 5 minutes. Turn the fish over and fry for three minutes on the other side. I flavored mine with a little lemon juice spiced up with finely sliced Thai red chillis and a little salt. 

Next week, I might try nuwaibi or shoam. (I am not 100% sure, but I think these might be roughly equivalent to silver croaker and a kind of sea bream). 

Do you believe...

... that Burger King is coming to Erbil? My colleague J doesn't. He bet me (I forget how much or what we bet, but I know I accepted) that Burger King wasn't coming... and that if it did, it would be fake.

It could be that I have made a foolish bet. Frankly it could be several more months... or even years before Burger King arrives (not that it affects me much either way. Pret A Manger is my fast food of choice... that or an almost-gourmet burger with blue cheese at Numnums in Kanyon shopping center in Istanbul). However, if it does open in the relatively new Majidi Mall, it will be real. I know this because the other shops like Ecco (Danish footware), Mango (Spanish clothing), Mavi Jeans (Turkey) are all REAL! (Plus, please note that there are no spelling errors on the signs! Sure sign that it is not a fake).

Please see the posters adhered to the walls of the third floor food court and place your bet...

For better or worse, Erbil seems to be "developing" at quite the pace recently. (Feel free to insert your own definition of development).

"Nadeed Bedeed" (+ I have a new phone!)

Last weekend, I bought a new phone. Yes, I finally took the plunge and decided to abandon my 5-year-old Sony Ericsson (I forget the model number) in favor of fully gadgetized Nokia. I had been so loathe to part with the Ericsson model that I had superglued the number 7 button back on (so that the phone only be missing 1 button rather than 2). Who cares that the camera was broken and some of the functions didn't work? It was my phone and I liked it.

Anyway, after transferring my phone numbers to my new N97, I put all the other accessories neatly away and used my fingernail to try to stick back down the edge of the plastic covering protecting the face of the phone. Now this phone, being particularly nifty, attracted a lot of attention; but unfortunately, attention quickly shifted from the phone to the fact that I had left the plastic on. What has happened to me? In the past (with the exception of that phone which I had a strange attachment to) I have been more known for making impulse purchases that are outside my budget and then quickly proceeding to drop the particularly costly and/or fragile items a number of times. (Clearly I am not of the Baby Boomer generation, nor am I much of a "plugger").

And now... Nadeed bedeed... Indeed! A Farsi-speaking student explained this concept to me as he eyed my phone. A villager who suddenly moved to the city and buys the nice things that he has never been able to afford in the past is so awed by his new possessions that he decides to keep all the plastic on, despite the relative inconvenience (it isn't so nice to sleep on a mattress still in its plastic - even if there are sheets over it).

I feel the shame.

I remember when I first came to Kurdistan and couldn't figure out why drivers of new taxis had left all sorts of plastic wrapping/sealing on parts of their car (even windshields) , etc. It seems on some subconscious level, I now understand. I vow that tonight is the night the plastic comes off!

Fesenjan & Tachin @ Kh's

Almost every time I head to Shoresh for a weekend lunch at Bakery & More, I pass by a Persian restaurant called Hazar u Yek Shab (1001 Nights). And almost every time I pass, I make the split second decision to skip Bakery & More and see what Iran has to offer diners in Hawler. Unfortunately, in the split second that it takes me to make the decision, we pass Hazar u Yek Shab and a sigh of relief escapes. I mean, I am not normally unadventurous - especially when it comes to food... but the possibility of being the only woman in a restaurant with almost no windows and tables crowded with men who would likely be smoking, causing a heavy fog to hover just above the tables; other diners occasionally treating me to a hostile glare as I nervously try to figure out how I am going to order from the menu with no English... Well, obviously, my mind has arrived at a worst case scenario.

Anyway, this weekend past, I was invited for a Persian dinner... not at Hazar u Yek Shab or Kingdom (another restaurant in Shoresh which I also suspect is Persian), but for a home-cooked meal at the home of a colleague from Iran.

And the verdict? FANTASTIC! Eggplant and ground beef stew in a tomato base... Fesenjan (walnut pomegranate chicken), Tachin (baked basmati rice with saffron and chicken) and white rice. The eggplant dish was somehow familiar, the Tachin undeniably delicious... but it was the pomegranate walnut chicken that really caught my attention. Small pieces of chicken suspended in a sticky dark sauce (the bottom pot in the picture); it wasn't much to look at, but the taste... tangy, savory and surprising! I will definitely be trying this one at home! (And I will also muster up some courage, find a fellow diner and try the fare at 1001 Nights.)

Let them eat Vegemite...

Yesterday, students received the dubious pleasure of being able to sample crackers spread with Vegemite and have their picture taken shaking the hand of a real honest-to-goodness Australian in front of the British (?!) flag.

A new student actually asked one of the teachers why the British flag was hung in the doorway... Oops! (That student isn't likely to do well in our department's pub-free versions of pub quiz). And a politics major commented that he was disturbed by such a display of nationalism (insert suppressed giggle here)! Our Australian colleagues don't even know the words to their own anthem. I don't think Kurdistan needs to worry about misplaced ultra-nationalism or nationalist ego-centric behavior from our genial Aussie staffers.

All that aside, hope all of the Australian expats in Erbil had a wonderful Australia Day yesterday and managed to get to the T-bar for a pint of... Sorry, VB hasn't made its way here yet.

Next year, instead of vegemite, I think D should prepare stir-fried kangaroo rump, spiced barbecued lamb and Aussie pavlova for distribution at the uni... or at least giant Anzac cookies (oops... biscuits). I will attempt maple cookies for July 1.

Turkish Kurds in Vienna

Even in Vienna, you can find the kebab so ubiquitous in this part of the world (Turkey, Kurdistan and the Middle East in general). After I took this photo, the man in white hidden behind the big lamb donair kebab thing came to the window and indicated for me not to take pictures. I started to walk away, but he waved me over. Apparently it was OK for me to take pictures after all, but only if I talked to him... or bought kebab. I opted to make small talk in English. Turns out he was from Diyarbakır.

Winter Break 2009-2010

Erbil:
Winter break started in Erbil this year with lovely librarian L's guests arriving to spend Christmas and New Year's right here! There was also a party with white elephant gift exchange at C and M's place. Perhaps the best part of the party however, was not the gift exchange, but rather a game in which we were given a list of song titles to decipher: songs such as Approach Everyone Who is Steadfast. Do you know this song? (answer at bottom).

Vienna: This year I was lucky enough to have a stopover in Vienna on the way to Canada. Fr and family were on a similar itinerary so together we headed (just before it started to snow) to the Christmas market in front of Vienna's impressive City Hall. I bought my mother one of Vienna's famous snow globes.
In the evening, I headed downtown for a piece of Sacher Torte at the Sacher Hotel (the lit up building on the right in below photo) and then to the Vienna State Opera (behind me) for a performance of Verdi's La Forza Del Destino. However, I recommend that if you visit Vienna during the winter holiday season, you skip this opera and opt instead for a performance either here or at Volksopera of Strauss' Die Fledermaus.
Saint John:
After a long journey (including a nearly 30 minute run through the Frankfurt Airport and some frantic and slightly acrobatic queue-jumping: Do NOT transfer through this airport if you don't have at least 2 hours), I arrived in the Atlantic harbor city of Saint John, New Brunswick. I was met there by my mother and her little dog. Shitzu's don't deal with the cold very well, but mom's dog was clearly more prepared for winter than me!
This year, Mom had two boarders from the nearby university. We did our best to introduce them to some Christmas traditions... like eggnog and Christmas crackers, putting out milk & cookies Santa and hanging a sock. (Thanks to L & visitors for introducing Mu to the same back in Erbil).

(Answer: Approach Everyone Who is Steadfast = Oh, Come All Ye Faithful).

Doha by Night

One of the highlights of Doha (for me) was the "nightlife". Not the dancing in nightclubs and bars (if they exist), but rather the wandering around the city, through little side streets flanking the old bazaar. The entire city looks a lot more attractive bathed in the glow of a variety of illuminations.

The picture to the left is the Qatar Islamic Culture Center. Too bad it wasn't open as it aims its message at non-locals: to "motivate Non-Muslims to become more informed about Islam" and to "enlighten non-Arab Muslims about all matters in relation to their faith." I suppose I need both informing and enlightening... but on all varieties of things beyond Islam.

The photo above is of the Museum of Islamic Art designed by architect I.M. Pei. Unfortunately, it was closed each of the several times we attempted to go. Over Eid, it seems there was only one brief window of opportunity and we missed it.
Above is the silvery skyline as seen from a dock near the museum.
And finally, welcome to my favorite of all the places we visited in Doha - Souk Waqif. It has been most pleasantly renovated and is now a hang out for locals, expats and tourists; men and women...

Below is a strange performance, presumably put on by non-Qataris where pale ethereal (with the exception of the red yarn-like wigs) figures danced inside of giant bubbles... As for my group, we didn't stop to watch, in our desperate search for culinary satisfaction.
Finally, after edging past a few stray giraffes near the Bismillah Hotel, we decided on a fragrantly enticing Indian restaurant, although options included Moroccan, Indonesian, French, and even Iraqi.

I even did a little shopping in the bazaar (mostly books and postcards). Finally, I went into a shop to buy someone a souvenir, a string of amber prayer beads (tesbi) and was shocked at the prices. Then the guy in the shop rolled out a special pouch containing what he claimed to be the very best... Iraqi tesbi!!! Well, now I know that for Middle Eastern souvenirs, Iraq is as good as anywhere else. I have to scour the bazaars in Kurdistan a little more carefully.
And finally, when leaving the bazaar, we heard music and realized that some sort of event was about to begin. We wandered over to check it out and were greeted with the sight below. Seems local Qataris, while they can completely turn a blind eye to scantily clad foreign female joggers, they are still very much traditional when it comes to the dress and behavior of their own.

(In case you can't see the figures clearly, the women are the ones in black on the left).

Exploring Doha - Eid Qurban

Last year over Nawruz (the shared Kurdish/Persian New Year) , a few colleagues and I traveled to Lebanon and had an absolutely fantastic time. Now when there is a week off approaching, we quickly start planning where the next trip will be. For Eid Qurban, 2009 (yes, I am posting VERY late), the decision was Doha, Qatar and/or Manama, Bahrain. I know that these may not strike everyone as the Middle Eastern destinations topping everyone's travel must-do list; however, with less than a week off, practicalities must come into play. In the case of Doha, the decision was largely decided by the fact that Gulf Air had just starting offering DIRECT FLIGHT from ERBIL to BAHRAIN!
Having just come from land-locked Erbil, the first sight of Doha was rather refreshing... Even before reaching the bay, I could feel the ocean breeze and (here I must admit that I have an inexplicable fondness for palm trees) couldn't help myself from smiling just at the sight of the gently waving palms.
Doha was equipped with many modern amenities and for us, the first stop was to avail ourselves of the shopping facilities, restaurants and cinemas on offer in one of the many many bland, but convenient shopping centers. In fact, all three of our traveling trio had brought extra bags packed inside our bags to fill with those items as yet unavailable in Kurdistan - brown rice, exotic cereals (like flavored instant oatmeal), English Christmas sweets, puddings & preserves... English-language novels, non-pirated DVDs, and more (most of all this at Marks & Spencer's... although the picture above was taken of the staff at Lush).
We were then ready to explore the bay. The corniche was a little over 5km long and made me more than a little envious. Not only can expats enjoy relatively beautiful nice scenery while getting in a little exercise, but they (including expat women) can run in shorts and tank tops. I am stuck in full length sweats staring at the road along the inside of a drab wall in the complex I live in going around and around like a hamster in a cage.
Although kind of cheesy, we also went for a little ride in a kind of motorized dhow-ferry. (There wasn't much to do as many culture venues were closed for Eid). The water was lovely, but the music was loud and the other passengers confirmed that the shorts and tank-top outfits visible on the cornichewere NOT de rigeur for all women in Doha (see below)!

Thanksgiving -text to come