Cool Stuff

The owner of the sodas said I did a very nice job arranging them. :)

Just because America happens to be the consumerism capital of the world does not mean that you can find everything you ever wanted there. Here are some of the notable items for sale that I have found on my travels. (Note that my choices are somewhat woman-centric -- but, heck, I'm a woman)

Iraq:

Since I last visited Iraq during the time of the economic sanctions (funny how so many people seem convinced that Bush really had the well-being of Iraq in mind when he invaded, and yet they seem to forget that the American-imposed economic sanctions on Iraq killed millions of Iraqis -- mostly children -- through starvation and disease), I was stunned to see the large variety of consumer goods available -- albeit for a price -- ranging from the pleasantly familiar (Neutrogena face soap) to the really unnecessary (a cymbal-clapping Santa Claus). Here are my personal three favorites:

1. Karbala Cola. Perhaps I've been to one too many majaalis, but the words "Karbala" and "Cola" just do not seem to fit together to me. Add that to the fact that I am constantly lecturing people back home about the evils of soda, and I was completely perplexed. But I chalked it up to an improvement in the local economy, although my friend swore that it was because soda was banned from the general public during the time of Saddam -- even though I remember seeing them selling it then. Despite my abhorrence of soda, I did take a sip, and it was quite good. If you get tired of Karbala Cola, there is also "Forat Orange" and "Karbala-Up" (that last one does not sound very appetizing).
2. Nice hijabs. A friend of mine once said that Iraq may be suffering from wars and poverty, but at least it has nice hijabs. She was right. They do.
3. Queen size footless tights. I was walking down the street in the backroads of Karbala when I came across a vendor selling queen size footless tights. I guess women wear them under their dresses. That's something that you can't find in the US; believe me, I've tried.

Now, Syria:

1. A three-bladed vegetable chopper. Just outside of sites frequented by visiting Iranians, you will find scores of men with neatly arranged piles of cilantro and carrots hawking three-bladed vegetable choppers. The way it works is that there are three wheels, and you roll them over the vegetables, resulting in perfectly chopped salads and greens. Undoubtedly they were reaching out to the Iranian population on the assumption that they would think, "This would really cut down on the amount of time that it takes to make ghormeh sabzi!" They thought right, because I too fell prey to this marketing ploy as I was hauling a big bag of sabzi down the street and thinking about all the hours it would take me to chop it. 50 liras later (about US $1.00), my vegetable chopper and I were in the kitchen.
2. Fresh-baked bread. Not just bread, but from the local bakery, you can buy fresh manaish, fataayir, and other savory pastries for only 5 liras (US $.010). They have every flavor you could want, ranging from za'tar and cheese to meat and spinach and even (yuck) that disgusting-looking stuff they have in Lebanon called "sujuk".
3. Hijab plastics. Ever get tired of your scarf bunching up? You put the hijab plastic in front, and it keeps it nice and flat. Very practical, very effective. 10 liras (about US $0.20)

Of course, they have all the usual items too, such as rugs and collectibles and the other items that you usually associate with the Middle East, but these were some of my own personal favorites.