A tale of Old Baghdad
Born in a land of myths and wonders from the Tower of Babel to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Violette Shamash describes a vanished world – a tapestry of traditions, stories and voices that history nearly erased.
In Memories of Eden Violette paints a vivid portrait of the once-thriving Jewish community of Baghdad in the early 20th century.
Through her eyes we see drinking water from the Tigris being delivered to homes in goatskins, cows being milked on doorsteps, and barbers shaving customers in the street.
She describes country girls carrying towers of yoghurt on their heads, life on the riverbank and the bustling markets, the impossibly narrow alleyways… We can almost hear the cries of the street vendors selling kebabs, lemonade and bread.
A bygone era.
“Extraordinary, unique and invaluable. An astonishing record” is how author and broadcaster William Shawcross describes the book. “Violette writes beautifully and her work is superbly readable.”
But all was not well in this Eden. After a benign British colonisation under a League of Nations mandate that was to last until 1932, disaster struck in 1941. A brutal massacre took place over two days of rioting and sounded the death-knell for the oldest community in the Diaspora.
“I saw my country emerge from a primitive past into what promised to be a brilliant future. My birthplace, Baghdad, was beautiful, civilised, and full of cherished memories. Now it has been replaced altogether, erased like chalk on a blackboard, and a new story is being written. I feel as if I am telling you a dream and it will be very hard for you to join the pieces together.”
A BRIDGE OVER TIME
T¨he Tigris bridge depicted in a 1485 painting and (below) the scene in 1920 during Violette’s childhood. It was still dependant on skiffs for support.
Violette’s Eden
The book
First published in the UK, then republished in the USA by Northwestern University Press, the book is now available in a newly updated Kindle edition with colour illustrations and rare family photographs.
Also…
Thanks to our friends in Israel and the Arab world, Violette’s story has been translated and is available in both Hebrew and Arabic versions. Click the image to link to the relevant site.
And on video
Northwestern University Press