The Chaldean Community Foundation, in partnership with the Chaldean Heritage Center in West Bloomfield (Shenandoah Country Club), took the initiative to host the second annual Mesopotamian Writers Conference (Beth al-Nahrain) on Saturday, November 11 in the Wireless Vision Gymnasium located in the Chaldean Community Foundation building in Sterling Heights.
Read MoreIn the world of culinary delights, few things can match the mouthwatering tang and flavor offered by a good old-fashioned Iraqi mango pickle (amba). To tell the story of amba, or as it is popularly known in India, Aam ka Achar, we must begin with the story of Indian Ocean trade and the long-standing historical network of merchants who traversed this massive body of water for millennia bringing spices, people, and ideas to Basra-Iraq from all directions.
Read MoreMesopotamia, located in what is now Iraq, is considered the birthplace of writing and with it, recorded history. Its people also built the world’s first cities and developed the oldest known political and administrative systems and drafted the first known letter. The very idea of philosophy was introduced in the Epic of Gilgamesh.
Read MoreOnce upon a time, Iraq had a well-functioning British-style education system, consisting of primary and secondary schools and eight tertiary institutions, including a well-regarded medical school in Baghdad and one of the oldest Islamic universities on Earth, Mustansiriya University, dating from the year 1233. Seriously damaged during military occupations and by rioting students in 2007, the university suffered trauma from which it is still recovering.
Read MoreA group from the Jewish community and West Bloomfield leadership visited the Chaldean Cultural Center inside Shenandoah Country Club on Saturday, August 5. This was the first of a series of events for the year-long Chaldean Story project, made possible with support from Michigan Humanities Grants.
Read MoreIn the early and mid-20th century, countless numbers of young Iraqi men were moving from villages to fill up major Iraqi cities like Baghdad, Mosul, and Basra. But a few visionaries, courageous young men, were more adventurous and turned their faces another way, journeying west to the United States of America. The late Thomas Denha was one of them.
Read MoreThe history of alcohol in Iraq stretches thousands of years, back to the invention of beer in ancient Mesopotamia. Their ruins are full of hundreds of clay tablets that record the methods and means of making and drinking beer; some even depict drink councils. Cups and vessels for drinking and manufacturing wine are also frequently found among the artifacts.
Read MoreIt has been said that what shapes a person is the books they’ve read, the people they’ve met, and the places they’ve traveled. This applies directly to Habib Hannona’s life journey and philosophy. As an avid reader and ardent culturist, he has read hundreds, perhaps thousands of books in various languages over the years.
Read MoreAs one of the world’s most popular beverages, tea has fascinated us, stimulated us, motivated us, and calmed us for well over two thousand years. Tea, or “chai,” as we call it in Iraq, is an authentic part of the local heritage. The Iraq’s long love affair with tea is amazing and historic, although it is difficult to cultivate in Iraq because it needs special environmental conditions.
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