The Depository · Browse · Middle East
The Depository documents 13 techniques in Iraq; by risk level: 6 critically endangered, 1 endangered, 1 vulnerable, 1 stable, 1 thriving. Each record opens with a public summary; the full research record is free to view once registered.
A thirteenth-century tradition of inlaying gold and silver into bronze and brass vessels, centered in Mosul, Iraq, under the active patronage of the Zangid dynasty, developing an extraordinarily refined inlay technique, particularly in…
The refining, casting, beating, and niello-decorating of silver, historically centered on River Street in Baghdad, documented as the specific center of Mandaean silversmithing in the city.
The hammering, stretching, shrinking, raising, repoussé, and chiseling of copper and brass sheets into decorative and functional vessels, practiced in Souk al-Safafeer, one of central Baghdad's oldest streets, a 500-meter avenue linking…
The hand-weaving of wool textiles -- rugs and embroidered wedding blankets -- by women of the village of Al Khuter, in what was once ancient Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, just northwest of the Mesopotamian Marshes.
The construction of floating islands and monumental reed structures using dried qasab reeds, an ancient technology dating to 4000 BCE and still actively practiced today by the Ma'dan people (Marsh Arabs) in the Southern Wetlands of Iraq, a…
The fine hand-joinery and lattice-carving of shanasheel, projecting bay windows built onto the upper floors of traditional Iraqi houses, an Islamic architectural element distinguishing the domestic architecture of Baghdad and Basra since…
The historic harvesting, grading, and trading of natural pearls specifically designated 'Basra Pearls,' a name carrying a documented history dating back to 300 BC.
A ninth-century ceramic tradition developed by pottery makers in the southern Iraqi port city of Basra, who invented bold decorative techniques that permanently changed the visual language of ceramics worldwide: cobalt glazing and…
The manufacture of the turbah, a small clay tablet formed from the sacred soil of Karbala, Iraq, used by Shia Muslims to prostrate upon during the daily ritual prayer (salat), directly produced at a dedicated turbah manufacturing factory…
The custom tailoring of the dishdasha, a long, ankle-length robe worn by Iraqi men and directly described as far more than a simple choice of outfit: a profound and active expression of cultural identity, connecting the wearer to…
A contemporary practice of Arabic calligraphy that moves from the manuscript, the building and the hand-lettered sign into painting: words rendered in many colors against a white ground, blending calligraphy and painting into one form.
The slow extraction and concentration of ripe date-palm juice into dibis, a rich, dark, deeply caramel-flavored syrup that has served as one of the primary natural sweeteners of Mesopotamia and the wider Middle East since long before…
The hand-crafting of durable, elegant leather footwear in Old Mosul, a profession known as Al-Qandarjiya that has been part of Iraq's identity for centuries, echoing through the city's narrow alleyways in the rhythmic beat of hammers on…