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looks newly decorated and is furbished with pale-colored carpets, and there is
plenty of artwork on the walls. Emily noticesmany religious pictures andwritings,
and other things foreign to her.
Rassan is there, not far from the entrance, calling them while he runs to help
with their suitcases.
Talal hugs Rassan.
“How are you, my man? How is the old Ibrahim?”
“I’m just great, and the old man is doing not badly considering his illness;
he’s anxious to see you. How are you, Mrs. Roberts?”
“I’m fine, Rassan. It’s good to see you again, this time in your own country.”
“Howdo you likemy country, Mrs. Roberts, from what you have seen so far?”
“I’m quite impressed, really; I expected to see a lot of destruction.”
“Well, there’s still plenty of destruction in other places, but of course, not
here; this is the airport and it had to be repaired first. You’ll see destruction in
different parts of the city. Anyway, come, we cannot keep Ibrahim waiting any
longer.”
He opens the door of the limo and they get in. Emily is smiling and
overwhelmed by the feeling of being in a totally different world. She’s treated like a
dignitary by Rassan and senses that her holiday in Iraq is going to be quite
comfortable and, at the same time, memorable. There’s a bottle of champagne in
the limo and Talal opens it. They toast the health of Ibrahim and enjoy their ride.
Talal and Emily are looking around excitedly while Rassan drives them along
the river. He explains like a tour guide as they go.
“Baghdad is a big city dating back to the eighth century. In one of the Arabic
dialects, the name means ‘God-Given’ and in another dialect, “Given-
Garden”. It sits along the two mighty rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, and
for the abundance of water it is called a garden. The “Garden of Eden”, referred
to in the Bible, is believed to have been in this area. Baghdad has been a very
important trading center for centuries and this is another aspect of its
importance and its history in this part of the world. It has been said that the
building of Baghdad started under the auspices of the zodiac sign of Leo
symbolizing strength, productivity, pride, and expansion. The original city was
designed in the shape of a circle, with a smaller circle inside the outer one, and a
mosque right in the center.”
As they drive along, Emily and Talal notice quite a lot of reconstruction has
taken place, as they hardly see the damage from the war anywhere. Emily is tired
from the long flight, yet her eyes are in amazement of all the sights; some strangely
shaped buildings, different from what she’s familiar with back home, and the
streets with boulevards bordered by different kinds of flowers and shrubs.
Mayanaam
vequinox
Manolis 