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Dar al-Atraqchi Café () is a heritage café located in
The work companion of Abd al-Razzaq, Sa'ad Salloum Abu Samer, also stated that the reason for the demand for frequenting the café while it serves tea, coffee, and hookah is because they are tired of modernity, western decorations, and loud bright lights, and have instead resorted to the calm atmosphere that the café provides them, as well as the old Baghdadi atmosphere which has become rare in recent years. Due to the popularity of the café, it has other locations around Baghdad.
Baghdad
Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
, Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
. The café is known for preserving the old Baghdadi atmosphere that modern cafes in the city ignore. It contains preserved antiquities and artifacts that were used in old Baghdadi homes, in addition to Arabian-style drawings and decorations on the walls and doors of the café. The café is also famous for organizing antique trade auctions which are famous with merchants.
Background
The café was opened in 2013 and was built in traditional Baghdadi architecture. The owner of the café, Abd al-Razzaq al-Atraqchi, wanted to make a traditional Baghdadi café as well as create a house for old preserved antiques even as the antique trade in Baghdad started to decline after 2003 due to theIraq War
The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
. The decision was made to display aspects of Baghdadi heritage in order to preserve them and introduce them to foreign tourists. The café gets its name from the Iraqi Arabic word "al-Atraqchi" which is a laqab
Arabic names have historically been based on a long naming system. Many people from Arabic-speaking and also non-Arab Muslim countries have not had given name, given, middle name, middle, and family names but rather a chain of names. This system ...
given to anyone who traded carpets and mattresses in Iraq. Abd al-Razzaq has stated that part of the reason for opening the café came from the al-Atraqchi profession that goes back to his ancestors' work.
The work companion of Abd al-Razzaq, Sa'ad Salloum Abu Samer, also stated that the reason for the demand for frequenting the café while it serves tea, coffee, and hookah is because they are tired of modernity, western decorations, and loud bright lights, and have instead resorted to the calm atmosphere that the café provides them, as well as the old Baghdadi atmosphere which has become rare in recent years. Due to the popularity of the café, it has other locations around Baghdad.
Description
Dar al-Atraqchi lacks a table numbering system. Instead, it has been replaced by naming each table with the name of one of Iraq's artistic, literary, and political figures and pioneers. Among those figures areAli Al-Wardi
Ali Hussain Muhsin Al-Wardi () was an Iraqi sociologist and public intellectual specialized in the field of social history.
Early life and education
Born in Kadhimiya, Baghdad in 1913, to a religious and very traditional family. He grew up ...
, Badr Shakir al-Sayyab
Badr Shakir al-Sayyab () (December 24, 1926 in Jaykur, Basra – December 24, 1964 in Kuwait) was an Iraqi poet, regarded as one of the most important contemporary Arab poets. Alongside Nazik Al Malaika, he is considered one of the founders of A ...
, and Abd al-Razzaq al-Hasani. The café provides its visitors with singing performances every evening that include Iraqi maqam
Iraqi Maqam () is a genre of Arabic maqam music found in Iraq. The roots of modern Iraqi maqam can be traced as far back as the Abbasid Caliphate (8th–13th centuries AD), when that large empire was controlled from Baghdad. The ensemble of ins ...
and traditional songs. The café is also well known for being the last of its kind that still holds nights where the profession of " al-Qaskhun" is practiced where every night of Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...
. A professional Baghdadi storyteller is brought to tell tales the storyteller memorized to an audience.
See also
*Café culture of Baghdad
The coffeehouse culture of Baghdad () is a set of traditions and social behaviors in old, local, or traditional Baghdadi Coffeehouse, coffeehouses in Baghdad, Iraq. Ever since their inception in the 1500s, cafés have acted as social forums and g ...
References
Coffeehouses and cafés in Baghdad Tea houses {{Baghdad-stub