30 Established 1961 Monday, November 6, 2017 Lifestyle Features Traditional carpet weaving unravels in central Iraq

n the shadow of the Imam Hamza mosque in colors and types of wool used in this agricultur- the region of the ancient kingdom of al area where keeping livestock is widespread. IBabylon, a carpet market that was once “Before, people came from abroad to place bustling is now almost empty. The only visitor orders,” he says, wearing a beige robe as he sits to Hamad Al-Soltani’s small shop in the city of in his small house on the verge of a dusty road. Al-Hamza in central Iraq, some 175 kilometers By “before”, Saheb means before the 2003 US- south of Baghdad, is a local tribal chief. led invasion of Iraq that sparked chaos and Nothing in the world can convince Sheikh bloodshed which still roils the country. “Every Hazem Al-Hiyali-a Bedouin scarf on his head, day, some twenty groups of tourists would found in mosques, are said to be Islamic. 50 years old, but he struggles to sell many of hooded cloak over his shoulders and shawl on come to visit the ancient sites” of Babylonia In many houses families jealously guard car- his wares. An item that he once could have got his neck-to replace the traditional carpets he and other archaeological treasures, recalls for- pets passed down from their ancestors, while more than $100 for, he now has to let go for receives his guests on for imported versions. mer antiquities official Fallah Al-Jabbawi. Now the offices of senior government officials or just $20, he says. In the rutted streets of the old Over the past few years, Iraq has been flooded no tourists come to see this millennia-old her- foyers of luxury hotels are often decorated with neighborhood nearby, the impact of the indus- with carpets from abroad-but although they itage. “There are only Iraqis left,” laments the traditional goods. But on the markets, the try’s decline can be seen. Some 30 or 40 fami- An Iraqi man displays carpets may well be much cheaper they are of a far Saheb, who throughout his working life embroi- majority of new models being purchased are lies who once made their living from weaving at his textile workshop. lower quality, he insists. dered patterns passed down from the different now mass-produced in neighboring Iran, now struggle to scratch together $100 each Hiyali says he cannot bear to even imagine civilizations that once ruled this region. can be traced back to the Babylonians who Turkey or Syria. month. Once a source of pride, this testament to his “diwan”, the traditional reception room ruled there some 2,000 years before Christ was About half as cheap as their Iraqi equiva- Iraq’s varied heritage is now neglected and where visitors sip tea and chat, without the long Age-old symbols born, or the Assyrians who followed. lents, the imports have slowly but surely made shunned, bemoans former carpet maker Saheb. rectangular carpets adorned with geometric Circles, squares, and stylized animals or Meanwhile, certain motifs represent the Jewish their way onto the stalls. Shopkeeper Soltani “Neither the state nor the private sector sup- patterns. “It is by the beauty of its carpets that flowers: the symbols woven into Iraq’s carpets Star of David or Christian crosses, and others, still has carpets on display that are more than port the weavers,” he says. — AFP one can judge a room,” he tells AFP, running ring-covered fingers across the merchandise hanging on the walls of the shop. “Our mothers and our grandmothers worked at home to weave” these carpets, says the tribal leader, his beard speckled with grey.

Lost language Soltani, 32, inherited his carpet shop from his father. He says older generations of women also embroidered saddles for camels and wove covers for their harnesses, but such items are sold nowadays only as decorations. Mehdi Saheb spent 50 years working at a loom and can speak for hours about the rich history and intricacies of carpet manufacturing in Iraq. An Iraqi man As he talks, Saheb, 70, weaves in long-for- looks at carpets An Iraqi woman gotten words from the past that are now unfa- at a textile looks at carpets miliar to younger Iraqis. Inherited from the workshop at a textile Turkish used during Ottoman domination more in the Iraqi city workshop in the than a century ago, they describe the different of Hilla. Iraqi city of Hilla. ‘The World of the Hunger Games’ sets the standards of entertainment at Motiongate

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