Me and my colleague Hussein decided yesterday to have our breakfast in a restaurant, after a long day of work and fasting. We left around 7 p.m. about 25 min before the breakfast time. No taxis, we were laughing out loud of the possibility we would not go to a restaurant, about 7:20 a speeding car stopped a distance away and offered us a ride he dropped us at the nearest point, we thanked him and he left.
We walked to the restaurant and we were laughing and laughing as Hussein told jokes about how we would stop a car to give us a ride… finally we are at the restaurant, and we enjoyed a good meal (with more than 50 dollars it should be a good meal).
Four tables were only taken, and as we left the restaurant 2 men arrived.
We are out in the dark street, around 8:10 p.m., except for three parking cars in front of the restaurants, there was nothing… we walked to another main street… after also few minutes we were lucky and a taxi driver stopped… the driver said he was late today and he never gets that late (we were lucky)…
Empty and dark streets at 8 p.m. in one of the busiest areas in Baghdad or used to be!!… Huseein said this was his first time to go out in night in two years…
Two days ago, I wanted to have breakfast in a restaurant also for old times memories; me and my friends used to have breakfast in Ramadan in that restaurant several times, but it was closed. I went to the only opened restaurant in that area; in a block were many restaurants and bakery shops used to be opened there was only one restaurant still opened and no more than 4 customers (including my self) showed up for breakfast.
Off course no need to tell you how I found a taxi, I was lucky also to flee the place as sounds of bullets came closer and closer while I was waiting in the dark and empty street.
I think One thousand and one nights must be changed to something else; like one thousand and one car bombs or kidnappings or maybe terrorist groups or militias. It will make more sense for many people who don’t want to risk going out during night and prefer to stay in doors. For my self, I will not from now on. I will be out most of this week nights and I think all Baghdad’s people must do the same or at least to start thinking about that otherwise we will never have our lives again and at least to have our One Thousand and one nights back.
Ramadan Kareem to you all.
This is the point my dear..
As Hamlet said " To be or not be this is the question". You should live each day by it self..consider your whole life is this day only.
Seize the day....
Ramadan kareem
Posted by: mee | September 20, 2007 at 05:01 AM
The goal of 1001 nights was to live, yes? To so enchant that fickle Sultan that his young wife could live to tell him another story the next night. And after she caught his attention all those nights, he discovered he'd grown to love her. (I hope I have this right, it's been years since I read the book.)
Dear writer, be brave and love your city and your people and live, live, live your life. But please, too, be careful, so you live to tell us more stories of more and sweeter days and nights.
Posted by: Laura | September 17, 2007 at 08:55 PM
I was happy to read your restaurant story. Because it is Ramadan, you'll have to be careful out and about.
Posted by: ljm | September 16, 2007 at 09:44 AM