“There hasn't been a lot written about it in the Western media. But in the Arab world, and Western Asia as a whole, Baghdad was always known as a famously bookish, intellectual city. There's an old saying that Cairo writes, Beirut publishes, and Baghdad reads.” WorldWritingWholeCitiesKnownWrittenMediaIntellectualWesternAsiaPublishBaghdadOld SayingArab WorldBeirutCairoWestern Media Author:Annia Ciezadlo
“Part of the reason you see so little about this in the Western media is that Iraq was closed off from the outside world for so long under Saddam. But I think there's a deeper reason, which is that it messes with our assumptions - not just about Iraq, but about culture and human nature.” ThinkingWorldHumansLittlesLongReasonCultureMediaHuman NatureWesternIraqDeeperMessAssumptionSaddamOutside WorldWestern Media Author:Annia Ciezadlo
“How can a country be home to sectarian militias and yet also to people who are educated, sophisticated, and pluralistic? This is not a simple matter. It's the kind of dialectical inquiry that's impossible to present in the world of Twitter feeds and newspapers where stories are shorter and shorter and more simplistic.” PeopleWorldKindCountryMatterStoriesHomeSimpleImpossibleNewspapersEducatedSophisticatedInquiryMilitia Author:Annia Ciezadlo
“So much of what we see and hear about the Middle East focuses on what we call politics, which is essentially ideology. But when it comes to the Middle East, and especially the Arab world, simply depicting people as human beings is the most political thing you can do.” PeopleWorldHumansPoliticalCan DoHuman BeingsMiddleEastIdeologyMiddle EastArab World Author:Annia Ciezadlo
“In the Middle East, bread is so essential to everyday life that word for it in Egyptian Arabic is aish, which means life. It's always been the staple grain. But the predicament is that the Fertile Crescent, where wheat cultivation began, has now become the part of the world most dependent on imported wheat.” WorldMeanMiddleEssentialsEverydayEastBreadDependentMiddle EastGrainEveryday LifeWheatFertileCultivationEgyptianMeaning LifePredicamentsStaplesCrescent Author:Annia Ciezadlo
“If you look at the list of the top wheat importers for 2010, almost half of them are Middle Eastern regimes: Egypt, Algeria, Iraq, Morocco, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Tunisia. Egypt is the number-one importer of wheat in the entire world. Tunisia leads the entire world in per capita wheat consumption. So it's no wonder that the revolutions began with Tunisians waving baguettes in the streets and Egyptians wearing helmets made of bread.” IfsWorldLooksMadeNumbersHalfWonderStreetsMiddleRevolutionIraqListsBreadRegimesConsumptionEgyptEasternWheatArabiaSaudi ArabiaSaudisHelmetLibyaMoroccoYemenTunisiaAlgeriaBaguettes Author:Annia Ciezadlo
“The Middle East is the only region in the world outside of sub-Saharan Africa where rates of malnutrition actually rose over the past decade or two, instead of falling.” WorldTwoPastFallMiddleRoseRateEastDecadesRegionsMiddle EastOver The PastMalnutritionSub Saharan Africa Author:Annia Ciezadlo
“For my generation - the "Children of Nixon," as I call us in the book - the Lebanese civil war was an iconic event. Downtown Beirut became a metaphor for so many things: man's inhumanity to man, what Charles Bukowski called "the impossibility of being human." It shaped our perceptions of war and human nature, just as Vietnam did for our parents. We used it to understand how the world works.” MenWorldHumansChildrenBookWarUsedParentGenerationsEventsHuman NaturePerceptionMetaphorCivil WarVietnamBeing HumanImpossibilityMy GenerationIconicDowntownInhumanityBeirutLebaneseInhumanity To Man Author:Annia Ciezadlo
“The irony is that Iraq actually has one of the richest and most sophisticated cuisines in the world. So many classic American or European foods - ceviche, albondigas, even the mint julep - have roots in Iraqi cuisine, which was a crossroads of Persian and Arab and Turkic traditions. The oldest written recipes in the world are from Iraq!” WorldWrittenTraditionRootsIraqIronyClassicSophisticatedRecipesCuisineCrossroadsPersianMintMint Juleps Author:Annia Ciezadlo
“So much of what we see and hear about the Middle East focuses on what we call politics, which is essentially ideology. But when it comes to the Middle East, and especially the Arab world, simply depicting people as human beings is the most political thing you can do. And that's why I chose to write about food: food is inherently political, but it's also an essential part of people's real lives. It's where the public and private spheres connect.” PeopleWorldWritingHumansRealPoliticalCan DoHuman BeingsMiddleEssentialsEastReal LifeIdeologySpheresMiddle EastArab World Author:Annia Ciezadlo
