A Bathing Bowl, A Loofah And Raqqa Soap  

ourlife49

A Bathing Bowl
Whenever I look at this bowl, I remember my happy childhood in my beloved Baghdad. My loving mother used to put me in the bowl and give me a bath, and give my brothers a bath, one after the other. After the bath, we would gather around the samovar to drink tea and eat hot bread with delicious white Arabic cheese.

SUAD AL CHALABI, graduated 1966 from Baghdad University College of Science, left Iraq 1978


A Loofah And Raqqa Soap
A loofah and soap are simple but absolute essentials. They remind me of my childhood, of the weekly baths we used have every Thursday at home. I remember sitting on a low stool and having my skin scrubbed with a loofah and soap, until I cried. The smell of Raqqa soap is very particular. And I remember putting on my flannel nightgown after the bath.

NOURA AL GAILANI, arrived in London after the Gulf War (1991)