Culture of Iraq
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Iraq has one of the world's oldest cultural histories.
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Historical culture
Like many Arab countries, and in a particularly similar manner to Iran, Iraq's traditional enemy, it embraces and celebrates the achievements of its past in pre-Islamic times. What is now Iraq was one of the cradles of civilization in ancient Mesopotamia. 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.
Archaeological losses
Many treasures of Mesopotamian archaeology were housed in the Baghdad Museum until 2003, when they were lost to looting and vandalism during the chaos that accompanied the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States and allies. The number and value of stolen items are disputed. A campaign was launched soon after the loss, with the help of the British Museum, to catalog and eventually recover looted works. Appeals by the museum resulted in some items being returned. Others clearly were stolen by criminal gangs with the intent of sale abroad.
Modern culture
In the most recent millennium, what is now Iraq has been made up of five cultural areas: Kurdish in the north centered on Mosul; 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 river.
Markets, and debating the price of goods, are the common form of trade.
Idioms
Like many nations, slapping somebody with your shoe, even symbolically, is considered an insult, although in Iraq this is more popular than elsewhere.
Related articles
External links
- Iraqi cultural heritage sites (http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/gallery/0%2C8542%2C926631%2C00.html) photos from The Guardian
- Babylonia (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02179b.htm)
- The 2003- Iraq War & Archaeology (http://iwa.univie.ac.at)pt:Cultura do Iraque