HISTORY LESSONS WITH TEA
Customers who visit Mam Kahlil's cafe in northern Iraq get much more than just fragrant tea and delicious food. They get to gaze at photographs that cover almost every inch of the cafe as well. And these are not just ordinary photographs.
Mam Khalil's sits in his beloved café where photographs cover the walls and ceiling. AFP PHOTO / SAFIN HAMED
Mam Khalil's collection of photographs tell Iraq's history as the country moved through the decades - through the many changes in its political system and leaders.
Located on a sidestreet in Arbil, the cafe is well-known and attracts everyone from ordinary citizens to senior politicians. The cafe walls are so full of photographs that it is impossible to sit back in most places without leaning on a photo frame. The pictures even go all the way to the ceiling.
Mam Khalil serves a customer in his café. AFP PHOTO / SAFIN HAMED
There are photographs of prominent Iraqis, such as Iraq's last king Fairal II and former dictator Saddam Hussein. Some politicians who visited Mam's cafe even had their photographs taken there and displayed on the walls.
It is clear that 76-year-old Mam loves photographs. He began collecting them when he was still a young man. He started working at the cafe about 70 years ago after his father died. Mam was still a student but had to support his family. His boss was not pleased with the photographs that Mam had hung on the cafe's walls but let him continue because he worked hard. In 1967 when Mam bought over the cafe from its owner, he was free to hang as many photos as the walls could hold.
Customers who visit Mam Khalil's café like to have their pictures taken there. AFP PHOTO / SAFIN HAMED
Mam is not sure what will happen to his café when he is too old to take care of it. None of his four children will run the café.
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Featured image: AFP PHOTO / SAFIN HAMED
