Feature: Why Did Baghdad Emerge as the Gastro Capital of the Ancient World? [Community Presentation]
In this afikra FEATURE, Mohamad Tassabehji Mohamad talks about the city during Baghdad’s Golden Age and the production of cookbooks in that era. He does so by asking the question of "Why did Baghdad emerge as the Gastro capital of the ancient world? Why did they produce so many cookbooks during that era?"
About the afikra Community Presentations
A community member delivers an in-depth presentation on a topic related to the Arab world’s history and culture during a one-hour online event. The presentation is the culmination of a month-long afikra coaching process to help identify a topic, find research, and develop the presentation. The goal is to showcase the presenter’s curiosity, research, and share some knowledge. Each presentation is followed by a moderated Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom.
Sources and Further References
Wilson, Ben, 2020, Metropolis, A History of the City, Humankind’s Greatest Invention
Nasrallah, N. 2021, Baghdad was in the Limelight of Medieval Arab Cuisine: https://insidearabia.com/baghdad-was-in-the-limelight-of-medieval-arab-cuisine/
Alkhalil, J. 2010, When Baghdad was centre of the scientific world https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/sep/26/baghdad-centre-of-scientific-world
Meija, P. 2018 The 10th-Century Baghdad Cookbook That’s a Poetic Tome to Food https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/medieval-islamic-cookbook
Ibn Sayyar Al Warraq, Nasrallah, N. 2010 Annals of the Caliphs' Kitchens
Baghdad and the silk Road: https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/default/files/knowledge-bank-article/baghdad_and_silk_route.pdf
Story of cities #3: the birth of Baghdad was a landmark for world civilisation: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/16/story-cities-day-3-baghdad-iraq-world-civilisation
SHELF LIFE; The Story of Islam's Gift of Paper to the West: https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/29/books/shelf-life-the-story-of-islam-s-gift-of-paper-to-the-west.html
https://www.cnn.com/travel/gallery/photos-middle-east-foods/index.html
Note: All community presentations are prepared & presented by non-experts on the subject. They are sharing information in the hopes of spurring interest in that subject.