Iraqi culture

The traditional clothing of the Arabs of Iraq, varying in detail in different parts of the country, is generally close to the North Arab Bedouin costume. Men wear tapering downwards, usually white pants and a long wide shirt ( dishdasha ), pulled together with a belt ( natak ). In cold weather, a swing cloak ( aba ) is put on top. A headscarf is a scarf ( jasper ), held by a woolen rope ( agal ) twisted around the head. The most common shoes are wooden or leather sandals , and among wealthier people, soft shoes . The clothing of rice farmers and fishermen in southern Iraq is often limited to a loincloth.

Women's clothing consists of pants, a long dress ( atag ) - bright colors in young and dark in older women - and a silk or wool cloak - anyhow. The head is covered with a dark shawl, tied to the forehead with a strip of fabric ( chardag ). Another scarf ( foot ) descends from the chin to the chest; women who make pilgrimages to holy places wear a white foot. Jewelry and amulets worn by women are very diverse - rings, bracelets, necklaces, pendants, earrings, nose rings and brooches made from a wide variety of materials.

The cuisine of Iraqis is very similar to the cuisine of other Middle Eastern peoples. The food is dominated by barley and wheat cakes, rice , porridge ^{[ specify ]} , sour milk , vegetables, dates . Dates eat with cakes and tea, prepare pasta, sugar, halva, sweet drinks, vodka from them. Boiled porridge ( burgul ) is cooked from rice, which is usually eaten with sour milk (la-ban).

Fish dishes are common in some places. Of the traditional meat dishes, which are especially popular on holidays, pilaf , roast ( kabab ), fried balls of minced meat ( cube-ba ), stuffed with meat eggplants and tomatoes ( dolma ), etc. are popular.

Favorite drinks include tea , coffee , fruit sorbets , Hamad lemonade, sour milk and salt diluted with water.
On October 21, 2016, the Iraqi Parliament banned the production, import and sale of alcoholic beverages throughout the country. For violation of the ban, the law spells a fine of 8 to 20 thousand dollars. [ ^1]

Iraqi folk music, known as the music of Mesopotamia , belongs to the music of the Arab world, but at the same time contains elements of Turkish, Persian and Indian musical cultures.

In 1961 , the first professional musical group was created - the National Symphony Orchestra .

Especially popular among contemporary creators of Iraqi music are traditional Arabic instruments - eve ( zither ) and oudd ( lute ).

Social life is also largely determined by Islamic traditions. All Muslim religious holidays are celebrated in the country: the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad , celebrated after the Muslim fast of Ramadan , the feast of conversation (id-al-fitr), the festival of sacrifice (id-al-adha).

Calendar rites dating back to pre-Islamic times are also preserved, associated with the beginning of field work, harvesting, shearing sheep, etc.

The civilization of Mesopotamia, or Mesopotamia (originated in the 4th millennium BC), in its historical development, we can distinguish the periods of existence of three ancient states that successively replaced each other in this region: Sumer , Babylon and Assyria ^{[2] [3]} . The most notable works of Mesopotamian architecture are monumental buildings and palaces: religious ( ziggurats ) and secular. Scientists attribute the earliest of the temples back to 4-3 millennia BC. These were ziggurats, which means “holy mountain” ^[4] .

• Tower of babel

2015—2016: Destruction of cultural heritage by the Islamic State

Visual art is traditionally less popular. This is due to the fact that in Islamic cultures there is a ban on the image of people, so artists have to find other objects for inspiration. Not surprisingly, ornamentation and calligraphy are most developed in Iraq. Nonetheless, contemporary artists eagerly create in the style of cubism, surrealism, symbolism and abstractionism, introducing national features into these Western styles.

First of all, the literature of Iraq is distinguished by the fact that poetry is the main genre for writers. It is considered the most popular literature, while in Europe and America (and most Asian countries) poetry is regarded as something that is accessible to the understanding of an educated minority. In the oasis of Marbat, near Basra , where more than 1000 years ago, during the time of the Abbasids , poets of the Arab world gathered and read their poems - Qassids , now poetry festivals are held periodically, reviving a long tradition.

The second most popular is [drama], although dramatic works usually reflect socio-political themes. Iraqi theaters (the most popular of which is the capital's Modern Theater) stage performances based on plays by Russian and European authors, and turn to both classical and contemporary literature. ^[five]

1950s : Literary revival began in Iraq later than in neighboring Syria and Lebanon, but in a short time reached a large scale. By virtue of long traditions, the initiators of new literature were poets, the largest of them - al-Kazimi, al-Zahawi , ar-Rusafi - laid the foundations of the neoclassical school with its characteristic desire to introduce new content into traditional poetic forms. Their works call for the unity of the Arabs in the struggle for national liberation, for the revival and development of Arab culture. Modern Arab poets, al-Jawahiri and Bahr al-Ulum, belonged to this school, exposing the reactionary royal regime in their work and calling for the deepening of the 1958 revolution. Poetry of a new direction appeared, abandoning the norms of classical versification. The development of prose is slower. Its main genre is short story .
Literary life in the country especially revived after the 1958 revolution , when the publication of many previously banned newspapers and magazines resumed and the Union of Iraqi Writers was created. With the formation of the Kurdish Autonomous Region in 1974 , favorable conditions were created for the development of Kurdish literature (in the local dialect of the Kurdish language - Kurdi-Surani ). ^[6]

Iraqi national cinema began to develop in the 1950s and especially the 60s, when the first full-length feature films, including color films, were created. However, while Iraqi cinematography is difficult to withstand the competition of Egyptian, Lebanese, as well as Western European and American studios, films of which are widely shown in the country.

After the 1958 revolution : the restructuring of the public education system (the necessary reforms were largely complicated by illiteracy of the general population, the dominance of a religious worldview, and sometimes the active resistance of the clergy), the law on compulsory primary education , increased budgetary allocations for education, significantly expanded and the network of primary schools is expanding (six-year-olds in cities and four-year-olds in rural areas). Changes have been made to school curricula, among which the reduction in hours devoted to teaching theology is noteworthy. Not only primary, but also secondary as well as higher education became free (with the exception of private schools). There are secondary schools that train specialists for agriculture, industry, and trade. The then government of Iraq managed to achieve notable successes: if before the revolution of 1958 the number of illiterates in the country reached 80%, then in 1975 it decreased to 50%, continuing to decrease.

The need for highly qualified specialists, primarily engineering and technical, required the expansion of the network of higher education. In 1956, Baghdad University was established on the basis of pre-existing colleges, with 18 faculties and several institutes. Higher educational institutions are also open in Basra , Mosul and Sulaymaniyah , the Commercial College in Basra. An important event in the scientific life of Iraq was the creation in 1940 of the Academy of Sciences , a center for the study of the Arabic language, Arab history and the history of Iraq . The Kurdish Academy of Sciences is also open in Baghdad.

The network of public libraries is also well developed: libraries operate in all major cities and some villages of Iraq. The largest of them is the Public Library of the capital.

Iraqi museums are unique. Thus, the Iraq Museum in the capital, Baghdad , is still a center for scientific research on history and archeology, as well as a repository of a unique archaeological collection. The library at this museum is one of the largest in the country.

Also in Baghdad: Museum of Modern Art , Natural History Museum, Museum of Arab Antiquities and Ethnographic Museum.

• History of Iraq
• Destruction of cultural heritage by the Islamic State

• Society and Culture of Iraq
• Culture and Life of Arabs of Iraq
• Customs and traditions of Iraq // travel.ru
• Culture of Iraq // best-country.org
• Culture of Iraq // global-echo.ru
• Iraqi etiquette
• The modern culture of Iraq // stranyplanety.ru, 2013
• Iraq: Cultural-Historical Zones