Zeinab

But I was so hungry by the time I got it, and its firewood flavor was so irresistible, that I devoured the entire fish in the car with Abu Zeinab in the middle of a Karada traffic jam.

Day of Honey Annia Ciezadlo 2011

One day Abu Zeinab was driving us along the Tigris when we passed a grove of date palms the size of a football field.

Day of Honey Annia Ciezadlo 2011

I started driving around with Abu Zeinab, and sometimes Roaa, and exploring different parts of the city: Hurriya, Kadhimiya, Bab al-Muadham, Baitaween; Mustansiriya University; the art gallery Hewar “Dialogue”, with its green sculpture garden and outdoor café.

Day of Honey Annia Ciezadlo 2011

AFTER A FEW weeks in Baghdad, Mohamad hired a driver named Abu Zeinab, a cheerful giant who drove the tiniest red car in Baghdad.

Day of Honey Annia Ciezadlo 2011

Abu Zeinab is a kunyah, a nickname derived from the name of the firstborn—in this case, “father of Zeinab,” his four-year-old daughter.

Day of Honey Annia Ciezadlo 2011

One day Abu Zeinab was driving us along the Tigris when we passed a grove of date palms the size of a football field.

Day of Honey Annia Ciezadlo 2011

AFTER A FEW weeks in Baghdad, Mohamad hired a driver named Abu Zeinab, a cheerful giant who drove the tiniest red car in Baghdad.

Day of Honey Annia Ciezadlo 2011

We took the hot plate and the plastic bins and the apples and onions and the various packets of dried soup and pasta, and gave them to Abu Zeinab.

Day of Honey Annia Ciezadlo 2011

But I was so hungry by the time I got it, and its firewood flavor was so irresistible, that I devoured the entire fish in the car with Abu Zeinab in the middle of a Karada traffic jam.

Day of Honey Annia Ciezadlo 2011

We took the hot plate and the plastic bins and the apples and onions and the various packets of dried soup and pasta, and gave them to Abu Zeinab.

Day of Honey Annia Ciezadlo 2011