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| Mark at Giborie Yisrael Elementary School |
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| Group entering Babylonian Museum |
I had visited it before and thought it was a hidden
gem. It has changed so much since I was
there 5 years ago....probably due to large donations of money from Iraqui Jews
now spread over the world.
The
building...inside and out has been completely renovated and there is much more
info and displays of Iraqi cultural items from around the world, especially
from Shanghai and India....which have large communities of Iraqi Jews....who
were probably more comfortable in places where the Jewish people practiced
Sephardic customs.
The part I especially
loved last time....the dioramas depicting how Jews in Iraq celebrated the
holidays....Sephardic with a bit of Muslim influence...was still there, well
integrated into the expanded exhibits, as was the recreation of the bima from
the great temple in Bagdad. The museum
is still charming, but I ‘kinda’ liked it better when it was less
polished.
One special part of our visit
was the story our guide told us about
her family's departure from Iraq some 16 year ago....taking one suitcase
for six people and leaving all else behind in an effort to escape the
persecution of Jewish people.....
Yesterday, Friday, was a lazy day......especially
beautiful and very warm. After walking
through the Arts and Crafts Fair and the Shuk (very big market)which is crowded
and noisy on Fridays....their busy day, I came back to the hotel and debated between
going to the beach or sitting on my mechpeset (little balcony) and
reading. I saw lots of people at the
beach and several in the water, too....although the part of the sea that I
observe from my balcony has no lifeguard and does not permit swimming. Well, I opted for the ease of sitting on the
balcony....as I had already walked about 3 miles.....so I read until I got
tired, took a nap and then read a bit more.....it was heavenly....as I was in
the sun, warm and cozy and just breathing in as much of this Israeli air as
possible.
Looking forward to Israeli dancing on the Tayelet on
Saturday. Shabbat Shalom,
Rosalie
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