Diplomatic work is an odd business. Most of the time you are doing it looks nothing like 'work.' I was invited to have lunch downtown today with Tahseen Sheikhly, the Government of Iraq spokesman who was kidnapped by militants a few weeks ago; I wrote about hanging out with his children last week. On the trip downtown I revisited an area of the city that I haven't seen in a while. The Tigris River winds its way through the center of Baghdad and there are some terrific riverfront neighborhoods along its banks.
One such area, Abu Nuwas, has seen a remarkable renewal over the past few months. Walking paths, gardens and playgrounds have been refurbished where I remember seeing barbed wire and heaps of trash a few months ago. Abu Nuwas was once famed for its club scene; while the discos have yet to reestablish themselves, several of the famous fish market restaurants have reopened. Several famous hotels line this section of town as well. We met Tahseen at the al-Wiyah Club, one of Baghdad's prominent social clubs that date back to the British era of the 1920's. In fact the al-Wiyah Club was the preferred spot for Gertrude Bell, the famous British writer, archeologist and imperial administrator. Along with figures like T.E. Lawrence, she is among those who shaped the modern Middle East in the critical post-First World War era. We stopped by the club's bar to see her favorite chair. Membership at the club dropped after 2003, as Baghdad's affluent fled for neighboring countries like Jordan, but is now seeing a bounce due to the security improvements seen in Baghdad over the past few months. Also, the recent actions of Prime Minister Maliki's government has brought a renewed faith in Iraqi institutions and the government's ability to project its power in the city. At the bar enjoying an afternoon drink were a number of Iraqi professionals and retirees, eager to have a chat. I spoke with Mr. Ali Swadi, a prominent corporate lawyer, about the benefits of club membership at the al-Wiyah; he says his family has held a membership since the day the club opened its doors in the 1920's. Members enjoy the three swimming pools and seven tennis courts, as well as access to the massive banquet hall for formal functions such as weddings and business conferences. Today was graduation day for a class of future dentists; the Dentistry department of Baghdad's notable Mustansiriyah University was holding their graduation banquet at the club; we stopped by and shook hands with a number of future professionals who will likely fill the ranks of the al-Wiyah membership roster in a few years.
We had to catch our own lunch; Tahseen insisted that we have one of Baghdad's famous dishes, muzguf - a special way of preparing fish on a barbecue. A big tank out in the club's courtyard held a number of carp who resisted attempts at being netted and snatched out of the tank. Eventually two fish found themselves split open and roasting above an open fire. Lunch inside the posh dining room was as pleasant as any Sunday afternoon I remember at the Susquehanna Valley Country Club, the site of a number of family outings in my formative days. Tahseen spoke about the Government's work to bring security to Sadr City and deliver essential services to that part of the city; a challenge due to the activities of militants seeking to undermine the authority of the municipal government. However, Tahseen was hopeful that some headway had been made in some recent negotiations between political factions.
A surprise visitor showed up at the club for lunch; those of you who may have followed my experiences in 2005 here in Baghdad may remember my advisor Ali, who was with me during the exhilarating days of the 2005 election cycle. Ali now runs his own media company, and says he is doing well. He has finally realized his dream of running his own company, a dream barely thought possible when he fled Saddam's anti-Shia crackdown in Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War. He was helped in getting to San Diego through a Catholic charity group and put himself through a master's program at American University in D.C. before returning to work in Baghdad with Coalition forces. Now he represents a growing trend of Iraqi professionals and entrepreneurs returning to their country to help it get back on its feet. Ali, and most of the other gentlemen I met at the club, feel that the religiosity of the politicians currently in power in Baghdad, mostly Shia and influenced by the fervor of the Iranian Revolution, will eventually wane as the Iraqi mainstream helps the country return to displaying its secular, progressive, cosmopolitan and patriotic tendencies. I asked my new lawyer friend if he was afraid that the government, in an act of zealotry, would try to shut down his club for openly selling alcohol and allowing an open mixing of the sexes. He guffawed at the suggestion, nearly spilling his Scotch. "If the government tries to shut down this Club," he said, "Every man here will go and tell them to shut down the Government!"
