Traditional Meal

Another treat in Dhi Qar was the traditional Iraqi food that was served. On the last evening of our trip we had a huge spread of food served in traditional fashion....on the floor! As we entered the room that was covered with beautiful rugs, we were invited to remove our shoes and take a seat. There was a long sheet of plastic placed over the rugs to protect them from all the food that was brought in by 3-4 Iraqi boys. The food was spread all up and down the long sheet of plastic as shown in the photograph.

You'll find it interesting if you look closely in the picture, there are no spoons, forks or knives. Again, this is the traditional manner for serving food in the Middle East. And, the meals are generally served "family style"....large bowls or platters with many servings. There was plenty of traditional bread, called "khoubiz". You eat in the following manner: Take a piece of bread, which is usually the size of a dinner plate. Tear off a smaller piece, maybe the size of the palm of your hand, and use it to dip into the common platter or bowl. If the bowl has a more 'liquid' food, you just dip it in and pull it up and take a bite of the bread with the liquid. If the food is more of a solid, you use the bread to grasp it and then eat it. It's a different experience for us Westerners who are accustomed to using utensils!!!

The food was delicious!!! The plate at the bottom shows a traditional fish dish. The fish is carp, which we consider to be a 'trash' fish in the States. It's a delicacy here! We also had a tremendous amount of vegetables, boiled eggs, olives, hummus, and on and on! Our Iraqi host was one of the local politicians, and he treated us like visiting royalty!!