Dancing dubka

What the RLAP office does on days off =)

This Saturday afternoon found the majority of the Resettlement Legal Aid staff chowing down on delicious Iraqi cuisine and learning dubka dancing in one of our translator’s living rooms.

A couple weeks ago I posted a video of some Iraqi friends dancing dubka in a park. Apparently it’s a competitive form of entertainment across the Middle East.

Maher

“…this kinda looks like Palestinian dabke “Palestinian traditional dancing” that i told u about in Abu Dhabi, thou Palestinian dabke looks a bit better.

July 6 at 8:05pm

Sulaiman

LOL it was fun!!!!

July 7 at 2:21pm ·

Mustafa

no iraqi dabka is better your are wrong
and this video is simple of dancing to learn lily but it is so complex if you can do it best

July 7 at 5:06pm · Delete

Maher: Well I’m sure that you know about Palestinian dabka just as much as I know about Iraqi dabka which is nell. I’m sure Iraqi dabka is much better than this and I’m sure that if i tried to do a palestinian dabka it would look worst than this. BTW modern Palestinian dabke is combined with contemprary dancing and figurative dancing which are combined to tell a story “mostly about the palestinian struggle or sometimes about Palestinian traditional stories”. so maybe you can tell me more about Iraqi dabka.
Ps; never let lily video u guys again

July 8 at 2:37am · Delete

PS–Since some of these people are refugees, I removed last names to respect privacy.

Want to feed a pigeon?

Pigeons in flight at the market

 

 

Men pray at Umaiyyad women pray behind them.

 Whether to take pictures of the praying was a dilemma. I chose to because first, it is a popular tourist mosque–there are thousands of more private mosques where tourists, and possible any non-Muslims would not be welcomed during prayer. Also, I strongly believe in the power of information–Islam is widely understood. The people in these picture are regular men with jobs and lives who simply happen to practice Islam. They dress differently and scatter to back to their lives when prayer ends.

Did you know Syria is the lingerie capital of the Middle East

With such as diverse population and regional differences, Americans know generalizing is often useless. The Middle East, and countries within, are no different.

Is Syria a conservative country?

Some people are.

Islam and “family values” may dominate life, yet there are always exceptions. Other viewpoints.

The major market is filled with shops selling all kinds of lingerie and customs.

Women veiled and scarfed walk in and out with tourists. 

Life here is just as multi-faceted as anywhere else.