I was 22 years old the first time I went to Baghdad.
short hair, cotton, black glasses (recently back in fashion). Make-a little 'heavy on the eyes and upper eyelid line with thick blue eye shadow.
short, a horror, but then they used to and I could see pretty well tanned like that.
I can still remember when I told my father that I had to leave alone and first flight, he replied: "What are you going to Baghdad?" But not with the curiosity to ask what I been doing, what would have been le mie mansioni, ma proprio con la domanda implicita di chi si chiedeva chi me lo faceva fare ad andare fin là.
Dico questo per rendere chiaro il tipo di mio padre, per rendere ancor meglio il suo pensiero su tutto quello che si discostava dalla routine quotidiana.
Ricordo ancora che avevo un bellissimo cappotto marrone doppiopetto comprato alla Facis (qualcuno si ricorda ancora il negozio della Facis di Torino?), con collo di finta pelliccia di foca, bellissimo.
Allora ero ancora magrolina e facevo la mia sporca figura anche unita alla giovane età.
On that occasion I had to take, along with my luggage, a spare part was needed to run a mechanism on the excavation, but do not ask what was .
had been packed in a heavy wooden box, and upon arrival at the airport in Baghdad, who was in town, I go crazy with curiosity the dull customs officials because the request for information on what was in the wooden box instead of responding with my broken English, but their was still the more, that was a gear said it was a "dish with fingers" and they strive to think of a piatto con le dita.
Ma non fu l’unica prodezza verbale che mi capitò di dire.
Arrivati in città mi colpì l’odore che aleggiava nell’aria e, quando lo sento, ricordo ancora che per me quello era il “profumo” di Bagdad.
L’odore di gasolio.
La casa della missione era una villetta situata in una zona denominata Karradat Màriam vicino alla quale sorgeva, giusto all’altro lato della strada, la chiesa cattolica dove tutte le domeniche sera si mass.
The house, with garden, was two floors with the ground floor spaces of representation and study, dining room, library, kitchen and the upstairs "sleeping area and lounge designers.
A half flight of stairs there was a small room that I should turn in cabinet photo and the first difficulty I encountered was to find the suq the black cloth to create a room that was just be dark.
The space was really small a broken and two small rooms: the first one in which there is direct access from the stairs, was intended for drying of the photos was going through an old rotary sent from Turin who was going to try hamsters was slow and a film dryer while in the other room, the camera obscura itself, was equipped with a magnifier, 2 contact printer for printing in contact with the negative, washbasin with shelf for pans of photographic solutions and wall cabinets that served from dispensation for the photographic material.
There was also a water filter really necessary, otherwise all impurities such as sand, would be deposited on the films.
Cito last but not least, the existence of an air conditioner that was unmanageable ball so that when I came out from my cave, I seemed to go from refrigerator to oven.
The mission at that time was quite meager and that is composed of few elements, but over the years would be enriched with other members, so-called "experts".
Leading c ' was our director, then a little over forty, three young graduates, the surveyor for the relief the excavation, restoration and me.
The staff consisted of a cook, constantly terrified by the Director yelled, in an Englishman who absolutely did not understand that what they sucked cook, a gardener Gheorghis, Gibrail his son (they were a dynasty fully intended to serve the houses of foreigners), the cleaning lady who also took care of laundry and a huge name Koshaba driver who was able to eat on the way Baghdad-excavation (an hour trip) cucumbers with the skin completely fill the dashboard of a long wheelbase Land Rover, just to give you an idea of \u200b\u200bthe size of half.
My job was to develop and print negatives, every night I went to retrieve their bags when they arrived by archaeologists digging, dirty with dust and hungry, in the second half of the objects and how I happened pursued to make more.
... But I want to leave a little 'curiosity !!!!!!
last note.
's strange that there are no pictures, right?
But more time was itching to run without cameras!
For
duty to inform the photo that appears at the beginning of the post, to my great sorrow and anguish thinking about how Baghdad is now reduced, is taken from the Internet.
