Living in Romantic Baghdad: An American Memoir of Teaching and Travel in Iraq, 1924-1947

Glossary

243 Glossary ‘aal: bravo! ‘aba: short for ‘abaya ‘abaya: women’s black, all-covering veil abra sec: a dry tree ‘agal: cord wound around a kaffiyah to hold it in place ’agha: Kurdish leader al-hamdu lillah: Thanks be to God anderun: harem ‘arabana: two-horse carriage ‘arak: colorless intoxicating liquor made from grapes or dates bakhsheesh: bribe, gift balam: boat balek: take care; watch out beg: respectable title for a man (Turkish) burghul: boiled, dried, and ground wheat chaichi: one who prepares and serves tea chaikhana: teahouse Dar al-Hikmah: House of Wisdom darbuna: alley debki: folk dance dehasha: flat, blue, buttonlike charm used to counteract the “eye of envy” dhow: an Arabian vessel with two or three masts dinar: paper currency, equivalent to a s English pound diwan: a guest room; a council chamber diwankhana: a gathering place for visitors or elders fallahin: peasants. Singular, fallah fardaws: paradise farhud: mob violence 244 • Glossary farrash: janitor fatiha: opening sura (chapter) of the Qur’an fez: red cylindrical felt hat with black silk tassels fi ‘aman Illah: May you be in Allah’s protection fils: basic Iraqi copper currency; , fils =  dinar finjan: narrow-waisted glass teacup franji: a Frank, a Westerner guffa: boat built like the arc of Moses, made of wicker, daubed outside with bitumen hajji: a Muslim who has made a pilgrimage to Mecca hakamen: rabbis hammal: porter hilhal: joy-cry ‘Id: feast ‘Idak mubarak: may your ‘Id be blessed (singular form) ‘Idkum mubarak: may your ‘Id be blessed (plural and formal form) ‘Id al-Fitr: great feast which follows month-long fast of Ramadan during which an observing Muslim does not eat, drink, or smoke from dawn until after sunset ‘ijma’: consensus of Muslims on the rightness of a belief or practice ‘imam: commonly, one who leads a group of Muslims in prayer; the leader of a mosque and the community. In Shi‘ism, an imam is one of a succession of seven, or twelve, religious leaders after the Prophet Muhammed; they are considered to be divinely inspired. Inglezi: English; Englishman ‘izar: garment worn by married Christian or Jewish women which hung from the head; made of solid colors with borders of deep and contrasting colors interwoven with threads of gold kaffiyah: traditional Arab men’s head scarf held in place by ropelike agal katib: clerk killidar: keeper of the treasures kitab: book laban: yogurt lala: tall, slender lamp, burning a candle lemonata: lemonade mahailah: type of vessel used on the Tigris majlis: council, national assembly Glossary • 245 manna min sama: manna from heaven mudir: mayor; manager; director muluk: kings mustow: Kurdish laban (yogurt) thinned with water nadi: a club nargila: tobacco pipe in which smoke is drawn through a jar of water, cooling it nawab: a Muslim Indian prince pasha: title of high officials (Turkish) qalabaaligh: Arabic word borrowed from Turkish, general confusion qasr: literally, a castle or palace, commonly applied to a large and commodious house Qasr al-Zuhur: Palace of Flowers, Iraqi royal residence ruh: a brusque way of saying “Go” salaam; salaaming: greeting, peace serai: municipal building serdab: room in large Baghdadi homes, below the level of the court, where the temperature is lower shaitan: Satan shamm al-hawa: “smelling” the air shura: consultation sidara: type of hat introduced in Iraq in the s. It became the emblem of the Iraqi governing and professional classes. It went out of fashion after the overthrow of the monarchy in . sisu: Finnish word to describe endless energy and vitality Sitt: Miss tarbush: see fez vali: governor wazir: government minister zanbur: a heavy and hardy variety of wasp zibil: garbage zikr: state of ecstasy induced by a group of dervishes, usually by chanting rhythmically a phrase that contains a name of God ...