Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (January 2007)

The Great Ziggurat of Ur, Southern Iraq

Iraq has one of the world's oldest cultupotamia and the culture of Sumer, from which the first known wheel was recovered, flourished there. In the 8th century and 9th century the Islamic Abbasid Caliphs presided over what was then the world's leading civilization, rich in science, art and literature. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 322 KB)Ur, Photograph 17th January 2004, by Lasse Jensen. ... Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 322 KB)Ur, Photograph 17th January 2004, by Lasse Jensen. ... For other uses, see Ur (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Culture (disambiguation). ... Sumer (or Å umer; Sumerian: KI-EN-GIR [1]) was the earliest known civilization of the ancient Near East, located in lower Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), from the time of the earliest records in the mid 4th millennium BC until the rise of Babylonia in the late 3rd millennium BC. The term... (7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. ... As a means of recording the passage of time the 9th century was the century that lasted from 801 to 900. ... Mashriq Dynasties  Maghrib Dynasties  The Abbasid Caliphate Abbasid (Arabic: , ) is the dynastic name generally given to the caliph of Baghdad, the second of the two great Sunni dynasties of the Arab Empire, that overthrew the Umayyad caliphs from all but Spain. ... For main article see: Caliphate The Caliph (pronounced khaleef in Arabic) is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the leader of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Sharia. ...

[edit] Music

Main Article Music of Iraq

Iraq is known primarily for an instrument called the oud (similar to a lute) and a rebab (similar to a fiddle); its stars include Ahmed Mukhtar and the Assyrian Munir Bashir. ...

[edit] Cinema

Main Article Cinema of Iraq

The current war in Iraq has been the influence of many films being produced. ...

[edit] Cuisine

Stuffed Masgouf ready for roasting in the oven

Main article Cuisine of Iraq

The Iraqi cuisine is generally a heavy cuisine with more spices than most Arab cuisines. Iraq's main food crops include wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, and dates. Vegetables include eggplant, okra, potatoes, and tomatoes. Beans such as chickpeas and lentils are also quite common. Common meats in Iraqi cooking are lamb and beef; fish and poultry are also used. Soups and stews are often prepared and served with rice and vegetables. Although Iraq is not a coastal area, the population is used to consuming fish, however, freshwater fish is more common than saltwater fish. Masgouf is one of the most popular dishes. Biryani although influenced by the Indian cuisine, is much milder with a different mixture of spices and a wider variety of vegetables including potatoes, peas, carrots and onions among others. Dolma is also one of the popular dishes. The Iraqi cuisine is famous for its extremely tender kabab as well as it’s tikka. A wide verity of spices pickles and Amba are also extensively used. Masgouf is a traditional Iraqi dish, it is an open cut fish grilled and spiced with salt, pepper and tamarind. ... what a load of stinking shite. ... Masgouf is a traditional Iraqi dish, it is an open cut fish grilled and spiced with salt, pepper and tamarind. ... Iraqi Biryani (as served in Amman, Jordan) The name biryani or biriani (Urdu بریانی ;Hindi बिरयानी) is derived[1] from the Persian word beryā(n) (بریان) which means fried or roasted. Biryani is a family of Middle Eastern, Southern Asian dishes made from a mixture of spices, rice (usually basmati), meat/vegetables and... Dolma is a family of stuffed vegetable dishes in the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire and surrounding regions, including the Middle East, the Balkans, Greece, and Central Asia. ... Cuisine (from French cuisine, cooking; culinary art; kitchen; ultimately from Latin coquere, to cook) is a specific set of cooking traditions and practices, often associated with a specific culture. ... Left to right: Chenjeh Kabab, Kabab Koobideh, Jujeh Kabab Kebab (kebap in Turkish, kabab in Iran, India and Pakistan, Kabab or كباب in Arabic, also spelled kebob, kabob) means grilled (or broiled) meat in Persian and Turkish. ... Tikka or Teeka is a Pakistani word with multiple meanings. ... Amba was the eldest daughter of King of Kashi. ...

[edit] Modern culture

[edit] Cultural heritage

In the most recent millennium, what is now Iraq has been made up of five cultural areas: Kurdish in the north centered on Arbil; Sunni Islamic Arabs in the center around Baghdad; Shi'a Islamic Arabs in the south centered on Basra; the Assyrians, who are a Christian people, living in various cities in the North; and the Marsh Arabs, a nomadic peoples, who live on the marshlands of the central Tigris and Euphrates. Look up Kurdish in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Arbil (also written Erbil or Irbil; BGN: ArbÄ«l; Arabic: , ArbÄ«l; Kurdish: , Hewlêr; Syriac: ܐܪܒܝܠ, Arbela, Turkish: Erbil) is believed by many to be one of the oldest continuously-inhabited cities in the world and is one of the larger cities in Iraq [1] [2] [3]. The city lies... Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... Islam (Arabic: ; ( â–¶ (help· info)), the submission to God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ... Languages Arabic other minority languages Religions Predominantly Sunni Islam, as well as Shia Islam, Greek Orthodoxy, Greek Catholicism, Roman Catholicism, Alawite Islam, Druzism, Ibadi Islam, and Judaism Footnotes a Mainly in Antakya. ... Shia Islam ( Arabic شيعى follower; English has traditionally used Shiite or Shiite) is the second largest Islamic denomination; some 20-25% of all Muslims are said to follow a Shia tradition. ... This article is about the city of Basra. ... It has been suggested that Assyrian people be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... The Marsh Arabs are the inhabitants of the lowlands of southern Iraq, the former Mesopotamia, whose families have lived in the area for thousands of years. ... The Tigris is the eastern member of the pair of great rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of Anatolia through Iraq. ... For the song River Euphrates by the Pixies, see Surfer Rosa. ...

Idioms Like many other nations, slapping somebody with your shoe, even symbolically, is considered an insult. Although in Iraq this is more popular than other Arab countries, as witnessed in such incidents as the beating of Saddam Hussein's statue in Firdus Square after its toppling through the help of U.S. troops. As in other Arab nations, the left hand is used for sanitary activities including the restroom, and the right hand is used for food and greeting; offering to shake with the left hand may be perceived as an insult, and eating with the left hand embarrassing. Saddam Husseins statue being torn down on April 9, 2003. ...

Statistics

A survey was made in November 2006 by Tareek Al-Sha'ab newspaper in the Baghdad area between male and female pupils on Iraqi history & culture. The journalists asked each student 10 questions, such as; Where is Al-Sulaymaniyah located, for how many years have Saddam Hussein been the head of state and where does the riffi clothing style originate from in Iraq? The results were shocking, 97% of all female pupils failed in more than 7 questions and only 1.2% passed without any wrong answer. 72% of the male students passed without any problems. This test started a debate between scholars and politicians on the matter if females should be allowed to vote or not.