In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

42 5 Yesterday and Today in Baghdad Iseldom went down the street in those earlier years without exclaiming at something new that had caught my eye: a new business establishment displaying new goods, the first large plate window installed by an automobile concern, a modern hotel modeled after a European, a cinema offering American films, a paved street. When I consider what Baghdad was when I arrived and how I found it when I left, I can scarcely believe it to have been the same city. The Baghdad of yesterday and the Baghdad of today appear as if they were two different cities. In our American home during our retirement, a group of friends were sitting cozily before the fireplace. Fairy fuel on a log flashed rainbow colors as tea was served in Japanese black and gold lacquer cups from a Damascus tray standing on a Bukhara rug. It was in this Middle Eastern setting that a Christmas greeting was handed to me. When I read the name of the sender with her new address—Fine Arts Academy, Chicago—I gasped, “Nahida studying in Chicago!” The Christmas card flung open wide the door of memories associated with the girls of Baghdad. The guests departed; I sat alone by the fire; my surroundings faded. I was no longer here,but on the great balcony of the old qasr, our home for so many years, welcoming two black-‘abaed women who in the privacy of our living room threw back their veils.A mother and daughter had come to talk about the classes I had planned to form. This was my first applicant, and if she was typical of others seeking admission,I felt I would have a rare group. Soon other girls came who had learned from a simple typewritten announcement, circulated among a small group, of the prospective classes to be opened and the limited number to be admitted. The quota was soon filled. When work began I looked into the faces of girls who proved to be Yesterday and Today in Baghdad • 43 the most eager, intelligent, and responsive young people it was ever my privilege to contact. The door that memory opened on these girls who had brought so much into my life would not close. I recalled a Valentine Day; the walls of the living room and the balconies around the court were decorated with cupids and arrow-piercing hearts in celebration of the day. Of course, Valentine Day had little meaning in a land where marriages among all the religious groups were arranged by the elders. But why not bring a touch of romance into these young lives? So, at least, I reasoned. Some of the girls asked to come in a particular costume, and an elderly photographer was engaged to take a picture of the group. Naima came resplendent as Queen Esther, while Nahida wore a very attractive Turkish costume. The latter was so beguiling that she could not resist the temptation to have herself photographed. I looked at her questioningly. “Won’t your mother disapprove?” “She won’t care” was the answer. However, she did care. The next day I was warned that the mother would call on me, with the aside that she was very angry. Sensing her mission, I went to the photographer and begged for the plates, which he reluctantly turned over to me. The mother came. Showing the plates to her, I said, “Here are the three plates taken of the girls. Two I shall destroy in your presence, and the third I shall keep until you grant me permission to have prints made.” I destroyed the two plates; the third I carefully hid. Today this first Muslim pupil of mine is in the advanced rank of modernity . It was from this girl who once was so strictly concealed behind the veil that the Christmas card came. With this Christmas card in my hand, my thoughts ran on to other profound changes I had witnessed in Baghdad and Iraq during my long stay. This card as much as anything else “highlighted” these revolutionary changes. An obscure, isolated country was suddenly thrown into the world stream. For centuries Baghdad had little contact with the outside world. Then all at once, it was connected by air routes and land routes with the rest of the world, subjected to an unprecedented avalanche of influences. The West rushed in blindly and noisily over these airways and highways and deposited what the...

Share