Late for Tea at the Deer Palace: The Lost Dreams of My Iraqi Family

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Late for Tea at the Deer Palace: The Lost Dreams of My Iraqi Family Page 45

by Tamara Chalabi


  marriage of 318–19

  children of 325

  in Beirut 341

  Chalabi, Hussein 235, 276, 299, 325

  Chalabi, Ibrahim 112, 137, 191

  Chalabi, Ilham Agha Jaafar 226, 235, 267, 270, 299–300, 309–11, 313

  Chalabi, Jamila Antoine 311

  meets and works for Hassan 213–16

  agrees to join Hassan in Paris 228

  alerts Bibi of Hassan’s illness 238

  visited by the Chalabi family in Paris 239

  has a hysterectomy 247

  protects Hassan from student attack 290

  visits Beirut with Hassan 316–17

  returns to Baghdad with Hassan 319

  leaves Baghdad for Beirut 334

  visits Ahmad and his family in Amman 345

  marriage of 356

  death of 386

  Chalabi, Jamila al-Uzri 30

  and choosing a wife for her son Hadi 35

  meets and likes Hadi’s prospective wife 40–3

  describes Bibi to her son 53

  hosts post-wedding tea party 56–7

  relationship with Bibi 60, 61–2

  alarmed at increased political developments 91

  gives birth to final child 108

  moves into the Deer Palace 112

  holds qabuls at Deer Palace 117–18, 146–7

  and female emancipation 121

  concerned at her son’s Western costume 127

  and death of Abdul Rasul 138, 140–1

  family gatherings at the Deer Palace 149

  relationship with her husband 158

  death of 181

  Chalabi, Jawad

  birth of 138

  slapped for singing a song from a Tarzan film 155–6

  overeats when upset 156–7

  and the Eid festival 163–4

  enjoys his visit to Baghdad playground 165

  witnesses Hadi’s anger at Rushdi 173

  and engagement of his sister Najla 237

  family takes refuge with 263

  escapes to Sheikh Jamil farm 266–7, 271

  accompanies Rushdi back to Baghdad 273

  keeps family business afloat 291–2, 324

  attempted escape from Baghdad 308–11

  returns to Baghdad 320

  possible arrest of 322

  leaves Baghdad 333

  in Beirut 341

  Chalabi, Khadja Malaika 30, 328

  chooses a wife for her grandson Hadi 35–7, 40–3, 44

  and wedding of grandson 55

  relationship with Bibi 59

  stays with her son Abdul Ghani 112

  Chalabi, Leila Osseiran 336–7, 367

  Chalabi, Mariam 337

  Chalabi, Mohamed 271, 313, 325, 329

  Chalabi, Muhammad Ali 31, 54, 112, 177, 197, 230, 317

  Chalabi, Munira see Nawab, Munira Chalabi

  Chalabi, Nadia

  birth of 73, 235

  nostalgia for the past 75–6

  education of 276–7, 299

  journey into exile 295

  attempts to escape from school 302–3

  obsessed with cats 325

  fashion conscious in Beirut 326–7

  and lewdness of Nabih al-Arab 329

  and question concerning exile 388

  Chalabi, Najla see Agha Jaafar, Najla Chalabi

  Chalabi, Peri 325

  Chalabi, Raifa see Allawi, Raifa Chalabi

  Chalabi, Reem 325

  Chalabi, Rushdi 73

  birth of 85, 108

  moves to the Deer Palace 112

  as favourite of his grandfather 131

  attends the dawakhana 132

  arrest and release of his father 151–2

  politicised education of 157

  and Eid festival 163–5

  impact of radio on 166

  attends a wrestling match 171–2

  enjoys Baghdad nightlife 173–5, 225–6

  as pampered and spoilt 175

  unhappy visit to London 175–8

  attends American University in Beirut 178

  joins the Ikhwan al-Hurriya 209–10

  describes Jamila to Hassan 215

  political career 217–18, 227

  marriage of 226

  temperament of 227

  and oil revenues 235–6

  reaction to Hadi’s refusal to buy Dolphin Square 248–9, 315

  appointed Deputy Minister of Agriculture 249–50

  and the Communists 253–4

  and army discontent 258–9

  arrest and imprisonment 271–2, 275–6, 278, 290–1, 298

  daugher Nadia sent to London 295

  released from prison 299–300

  attempted escape from Baghdad 308–11

  travel ban lifted 312, 313

  exile in London 313–14, 343

  moves to Beirut 319

  manages family’s overseas assets 324

  listens to BBC World Service 329

  decides to found a bank in Jordan 344

  and acquisition of a passport 356

  and death of Bibi 363–4

  Chalabi, Saleh 108, 112, 132, 134, 135, 238

  attends a wrestling match 171–2

  Chalabi, Salem 326

  Chalabi, Salim 203, 222, 246–7

  Chalabi, Sarah 325

  Chalabi, Shamsa 64, 112, 138, 146, 149, 150, 182, 270

  Chalabi, Shaouna 35, 36–7, 41–3, 62, 244

  Chalabi, Talal 149

  and Eid festival 163, 165

  plays cards with Raifa 194

  enthralled by Rumia’s tales 220

  enjoys trip to Paris 238

  taken to house of family friend 267

  escapes to Sheikh Jamil farm 270–2

  attempted escape from Baghdad 309–11

  marriage of 318–19

  children of 325

  decides to found a bank in Jordan 344

  and acquisition of a passport 356

  Chalabi, Tamara

  first visit to Baghdad xxvi–xxvii

  search for family connections xxvii–xxxix, xxxii–xxxiii, 3–4, 69–70, 73–6, 189–90, 386–8

  finds Gertrude Bell’s grave 185–6

  watches re-enactment of Battle of Karbala 279–80

  and rebuilding of Iraq 283–4

  entertained by stories by Bibi 353–4

  dreams of Bibi 369

  opposition to Saddam Hussein 370–82

  votes in first Iraq elections 383

  and burial of Bibi in Najaf 385–6

  and Iraq constitution 386

  Chalabi, Thamina see al-Bassam, Thamina Chalabi

  Churchill, Winston 95, 96

  Clemenceau, Georges 90

  Colvin, Marie 378

  Cornwallis, Kinahan 98

  Costain (Richard) Ltd 248

  Cox, Sir Percy 102, 106, 107

  Dabbakhana 83

  Daccache, Laure 167

  Daftari family 91

  Daghistani, Ghazi 278

  Damascus 94, 176, 192, 218, 359

  Dardanelles 67

  Dayyah Saadah 112, 197

  Deer Palace xxvii, 203, 314, 387

  naming of 17, 18, 19, 20

  requisitioned by Turkish military 26–7, 33

  Abdul Hussein’s move to 112–13

  gardens of 114–15, 131

  visitors to 115–16, 131, 132, 136, 146

  qabuls at 117–18, 137

  daily life in 130–3

  monthly family gatherings at 149–51

  childhood lives in 161–7

  radio introduced into 166–7

  move from 179–80

  parties at 353–4

  Deutsche Bank 235

  Dhour el-Choueir 220

  Diala province 119

  Diwaniya 142

  Diyarbakir 371

  Dokkan 377

  Downing College, Cambridge 122–3, 127–8

  Doxiadis, Constantinos 250, 279

  Eden, Antho
ny 257

  Eid festival 163–6

  Eisenhower, Dwight D. 257

  Ellerton, John 304

  Eskandar, Afifa 174, 387

  Fahima (nanny to Thamina’s children) 261, 266, 277

  Fahima (wife of Ni’mati) 112, 148

  Faili, Hadji Abbas 329–31

  Falle, Sam 274

  Falluja 196, 308, 309

  Farhud (Great Loot) 207–8

  Farouk, King 216–17, 253

  Fath Ali Shah 36

  Fatima 14

  Fatima (bread-maker) 131

  Fatimid dynasty 105

  Fattah family 91

  Faisal I, King 87, 142, 198

  attends Versailles Peace Conference 89–90

  involvement in the Arab revolt 89

  in Damascus 94, 95

  as putative King of Iraq 95–9

  meets Abdul Hussein 98–9

  arrival in Baghdad and Kazimiya 102–3

  lunches with the Chalabi family 103–5

  coronation speech 106–7

  administration of 109–10, 113–14

  relationship with Gertrude Bell 116

  misses Gertrude Bell’s funeral 129

  death of 147

  Faisal II, King 191, 211, 247, 253, 267, 268, 269, 276, 277

  Fermor, Patrick Leigh 217

  Fidayin Saddam 378

  First World War

  recruitment and conscription 23–4, 33

  debates concerning 24–6

  and call for jihad 26

  effects of 28–33

  casualities of 33–4

  and the fall of Baghdad 63–7

  Free Iraqi Forces (FIF) 377–8

  Gailani, Rashid ’Ali 152, 156, 159, 202–5, 206, 220

  Gemayel, Bashir 342

  Geneva 238

  George, Zakiya 167

  Germans, Germany 10

  Ghadir, festival of the 106

  Ghaffuri (driver) 205

  Ghazi, Crown Prince 137, 147–8, 191

  Gilgamesh epic xxix, 251

  Goebbels, Joseph 183, 184

  Golden Square (nationalist group) 202, 204, 208

  Goltz, Colmar Freiherr von der 31–2

  Grobba, Herr 182

  Gropius, Walter 250

  Groppi coffee house (Cairo) 217

  Gulbenkian, Calouste ‘Mr 5 Per Cent’ 235–6

  Gulf War (1990–1) 365, 370–1

  Habbaniya 204, 206

  Habib, Master Yusuf 168–9

  Hadi City (Madinat al-Hadi) 248

  Hadi, Hadji (cook) 132–3, 169, 170–2

  Hadid, Muhammad 159, 274

  Haidar, Rustum 106, 121, 136, 142, 198–200

  Haifa 218

  Hajji Umran 375–6

  Halabja 361–2

  Hammudi the Arabanchi (‘tram-man’) 170–2

  Harir 378

  Hasouni family 321

  Hejaz 115

  Hellenic Stores (Greek Street, London) 294

  Hidat (maid) 326

  Hilla 144, 380

  Hitler, Adolf 182, 183, 203, 204, 205, 213

  Hiyam, Princess 268

  HMS Northbrook 98

  Hunt Club (Baghdad) 380–1

  Huntington House school (Surrey) 302–3

  Hussein, King 267, 313, 322–3, 348, 366, 367, 368

  Hussein, Saddam xxxii, 279, 283, 319–20, 333, 334, 335, 345–8, 351–2, 355, 361–2, 364–5, 366–7, 370–1, 373, 374, 375–81, 382

  Hussein, Taha 217

  Husseini, Mufti Amin 203

  Hyderabad 17

  Ibrahim (estate manager) 7–8

  and locust story 8–10

  Ibrahim, Naji 294

  Ikhwan al-Hurriya (Brotherhood of Freedom) 209–10

  Imam Ali (1st Imam) 93, 99, 106, 141, 182, 361, 386

  Imam Hussein (3rd Imam) xxviii, 78, 99, 105, 278

  Imam Musa al-Kazim (7th Imam) 14, 60–1, 81, 155

  Independence Guard (Haras al Istiqlal) 91–4

  Inverforth, Lord 248, 249, 357

  Iran, Shah of 322, 335, 344

  Iran-Iraq War (1980–8) 345–8, 364

  Iranian revolution (1979) 344

  Iraq

  history of xxxiii–xxxi

  post-Saddam view of xxxii–xxxiii

  formation of 89–94

  ambivalence during Second World War 182–4

  cultural history 190

  mounting tensions in 202–10

  British de facto occupation of 203–4, 208–9, 210

  Communist ideology in 221–2

  anti-British sentiment in 229–32

  anti-Jewish feelings in 232–3

  political instability in 232–3

  executions in 234

  oil revenue 235–6

  development of 250–4

  culture in 251–3

  and the Suez crisis 257–8

  military coups in 260–9, 276–8, 291–2, 300, 309–10, 312–13, 322–3

  martial law declared 278

  military courts 278, 307, 308, 312–13

  and the ‘expired epoch’ 283–4, 307

  Ba’ath coup in 333–4, 335

  under Saddam’s regime 345–8, 349, 361–2, 364–5

  and Iraqi exiles 354–6

  financial state of 366

  Iraq Liberation Act (ILA) 374

  Iraqi Airways 355

  Iraqi Communist Party (ICP) 203, 221–2, 234, 246–7, 253–4, 289, 290, 307, 309–10, 351

  Iraqi Development Board 236–7, 250, 253–4

  Iraqi Embassies 355

  Iraqi Military coup 260–9

  Iraqi National Congress (INC) 371, 373, 374, 376, 377

  Iraqi National Museum 127, 183–4, 389

  Iraqi Petroleum Company 235

  Iraqi Red Crescent 227

  Iraqi stock exchange 160, 163

  Iraqi Student Union 355

  Israel 338

  Israel Radio 329

  Istanbul 10, 181, 293, 371

  Istrabadi, Bibi (see also Amir, Umm Abdul) 52, 124, 269–70

  Istrabadi family 321

  Istrabadi, Sadiq 154, 267, 269

  Jaafar, Dhia 271

  Jaafar, Omar 270

  Jabr, Muhammad 231

  Jabr, Saleh 229–30, 231–2, 255

  Jamali, Fadhil 255, 266–7, 271, 272, 273, 290

  Jawad, Hadji 83–4

  Jawad, Muhammad 14

  Jawahiri family 321

  Jeddah 98

  Jews xxxi, 205–8, 222, 232–3

  Jurf al-Sakhir 119

  Kabariti, Karim 368

  kallachiya (Baghdad) 223–5

  Kalthoum, Umm 146, 166, 167

  Kanaan family 321

  Karaj 279

  Karbala 99, 102, 199, 231, 278, 321, 360, 380, 385

  Karbala, Battle of xxvii, 279–80

  Karim (driver) 133, 140, 151–2, 158, 205

  Kasbani, Amin 106

  Kawar, Samir 368

  Kayseri (ancient Caesaria) 29, 104

  Kazim (friend of Hassan’s) 228, 238

  Kazimi, Abdul Raouf 82–3

  Kazimi family 321

  Kazimiya xxxi, 3–4, 8–22, 26, 28, 58, 63–4, 66, 79, 91, 145–6, 148, 161, 197, 222, 227, 250, 266, 267, 287, 306, 321, 351, 385

  Kazimiya, Mayor of 88, 269

  Kazimiya shrine 12–16, 60, 92, 103, 110–11, 116, 154–5, 182, 280, 287, 385

  Kazimiya Tramway 61

  Kelidar (shrine overseer) 14–16, 61, 92

  Khalil family 319

  Khalil Hamadani (Baghdad shoe shop) 163

  Khalil (Palestinian doorman) 318, 326, 341–2

  Khalil Pasha 63, 64

  Khalisi, Sheikh Mahdi 110–11, 116, 287

  Khomeini, Ayatollah 344, 345

  King Fouad University (Cairo) 215, 216, 253

  Kirkuk 235–6

  Kramer, Herr 171

  Kubba family 91

  Kufa 93, 333

  Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) 371, 376

  Kurds xxx
i, 78, 92, 105, 121, 156, 253, 255, 319, 335, 347, 348, 361–2, 370, 373, 376, 382

  Kut 32, 63, 67, 119, 144, 234

  Kuwait 98, 370

  Kuwaiti, Daoud 169

  Kuwaiti, Saleh 169

  Lake Dokkan 376

  Laleh (maid) 101

  Latifiyyah Estate 248, 248–9, 250, 287, 320

 

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