Opening of the Exhibition "The Coffee House"

The festive opening of the Coffee House exhibit was held on 3 September 1996 at the Babylonian Jewry Museum. The display was donated by Idit and Yitzhak Hayik and their children in honor of Saida and Moshe Hayik. The Coffee House exhibit is located in the Street at the end of the reconstructed Lane, and the visitor, entering the Lane finds himself passing by the benches of the coffee house, beside the men sipping tea. A reproduction of the traditional coffee house can be seen in two parts: the inside and the outside. In the roofed-over inside section there are utensils for making the tea and coffee. The tea-making equipment includes a water heater (samovar) and the teapot for brewing the strong tea essence. The coffee-making utensils include copper pitchers of various sizes into which the coffee essence has been strained. The outside section is under the blue sky. Wooden seats beside tables cover the coffee house area. The special nature of the exhibit lies in the fact that in it are reconstructed a scene chosen as representing the coffee house ambience: Two figures of men are seen, seated on wooden benches in the open air. They are playing shesh-besh (backgammon) and smoking a nargila. Beside them stands the tea-server with a tray in his hands on which are small teacups and saucers. The inside of the coffee house is visible in the background, with the utensils for making tea and coffee.

The period of the exhibit is the 1930s, a time of transition of the Jewish community of Iraq from a traditional to a modern lifestyle. This is evident in the dress of the figures: The young man is wearing a tailored suit with a "sidara" hat on his head, while in contrast the older man wears traditional garments, the "zbun" and a jacket, with a traditional fez on his head. The tea-server, a youth, wears a plain man's garment, the "dishdasha." The traditional coffee house occupied an important place among the Iraqi Jewish community, as it did among the Muslims. It constituted a social and cultural hub, only for men.

At the coffee house proprietors of businesses met and negotiated; there politics were discussed and mulled over; there fresh news came in about every subject. High-school boys used to meet at the coffee house to get ready for exams; gossip was not absent from the place, and even ideas for marriages were cooked up there. At the same time, events took place at the coffee house accompanied by singing and melodies. In this sense the place also served as a source of joy and pleasure, as the men whiled away their time with games, the nargila, and of course drinking.

In the large coffee houses snacks were served, such as lubia in summer and ful in winter. At some coffee houses patrons ordered food from outside. The exhibit was designed by Lavi Zarfati, under the guidance of Dr Zvi Yehuda and Dr Shaul Sehayik; mention should be made here also of Mr Yitzhak Hayik, who accompanied the exhibit from the start.