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.)