Sweets

I may have mentioned some of the customs here in Iraq, some of which are representative of the Middle East, and I apologize if I repeat myself. First off people bring you food. They bring you food if you are sick, they bring you food if you have a baby, get a new place to live, or if someone dies. When you return the dish you are supposed to put a little something in it. Either cook something in return, or put fruit or sweets in the bowl. You always take your shoes off when you enter someones house. To not do so is a big insult. When somebody dies you visit at the mosque for three days. Then after forty days the family goes to the cemetery. After that it is an annual tradition. If you get a new position, get engaged, get married, have a baby or have some good news you bring sweets. One of our legal coordinators today submitted the topic for his thesis and it was accepted. To share his good news and celebrate he brought sweets fresh out of the oven from Al Hamdany. Al Hamdany is originally a shop from Baghdad, but they have a branch here in Suly. Can I tell you how happy I am for that man. I am happy down to the ooey gooey honey that is dripping on my fingers. They wrap mahalabia, which is an amazing pudding, in pastry layered in honey and then they bake it and sprinkle powdered sugar (which melts into the honey) and pistachio on top. He brought them straight out of the oven and it was better then any crispy creme donut I ever had, even the ones straight from the oven.