The Cultural Economy of Mosuli Cuisine: Women’s Self-Reliance and Social Harmony

This article focuses on the power of Mosuli cuisine and its vital role in reviving Mosul's culture and empowering Mosuli women to become leaders in cultural entrepreneurship and heritage preservation. The “Fatafeat” project, established by Nour Mahmoud and her mother, Khaleda Ghanem, is used as a case study to demonstrate the importance of the cultural economy in promoting social harmony and economic prosperity.

The article discusses the historical and social significance of Mosuli cuisine, highlighting its connection to the family system, education, and socialization. It also emphasizes the crucial role of women in preserving the intangible heritage of Mosul through the kitchen and promoting social harmony. The “Fatafeat” project is a pioneering initiative combining cultural preservation with economic development and female entrepreneurship.

The article concludes by urging readers to support and empower Mosuli women in their efforts to rebuild and restore the city’s cultural legacy. Through cultural cuisine and entrepreneurship, Mosuli women can lead the way in revitalizing their community and promoting social harmony and economic prosperity.

Mosul, a city renowned for its strategic location along the historic trade routes, including the Silk Road, owes its prosperity to the Tigris River, which has bestowed fertile lands and abundant water. The city is celebrated for its diverse cuisine and assortment of spices, with signature dishes that tantalize the taste buds with their rich flavors and culinary traditions that reflect the influences of Mesopotamia and the Assyrian kitchen.

The ancient tablets uncovered during the reign of the Assyrian King Ashur Nasser Pal revealed the existence of an array of foods and juices, which were subsequently adopted by the civilizations of the Sasanians and the Abbasid state. Cooking is considered one of the most renowned arts in the Middle East, and the Mosuli kitchen, with its distinctive rituals, is no exception. These customs are not only associated with the food itself but also with the kitchen’s integral role in family life. Families gather around tables during various seasons, and the Attarin Market and Saffarin Market in Mosul are central hubs for acquiring cooking utensils.

The diversity of the cuisine in Mosul is also linked to its social and ethnic diversity, as each society within the city has its unique cooking characteristics and customs. The culinary traditions are further influenced by the division between urban and rural areas, with Mosulis’ preference for fresh vegetables produced by the numerous farms scattered in the Nineveh Plain and northwest.

Wheat, the primary ingredient in Mosulian cuisine, thrives in the verdant fields of Nineveh, and the city’s most celebrated dish is kibbeh. This savory dish comprises crushed wheat shaped into discs and filled with meat, onions, and black pepper. Its roots are intertwined with the wheat mills that pepper the Old City, particularly those around the Al-Nouri Mosque. Mosuli literature abounds with stories and sayings about cooking, and it is rare for someone to visit Mosul without inquiring about its kibbeh and Turshi (pickles). Kibbeh represents an emblem of the city’s social system and is steeped in rituals and customs that are unparalleled elsewhere.

Mosuli cuisine follows a calendar that observes holidays, rituals, and special occasions, such as Ramadan, which abounds with homemade delicacies and beverages and seasonal foods such as Al-Baja and Al-Barmah. The Mosuli kitchen is distinguished by its capacity to preserve and store foodstuffs, notably wheat, barley, and legumes. Local mills produce bulgur, groats, and grain (kishka) from wheat, which is utilized to create unique foods that can be preserved for extended periods.

These customs and traditions proved invaluable to the people of Mosul during the ISIS occupation of the city between 2014 and 2017 when the city was under siege for several months. Mosuli cuisine is intimately linked to women, and this historical period highlighted their arduous task of providing sustenance for their families amid dire economic conditions.

The Mosuli kitchen, alongside other intangible heritage in Mosul, has long been overlooked and experienced a significant setback that impacted its elements after the city’s destruction during the ISIS occupation. Nevertheless, this cuisine remains a fundamental aspect of Mosulis’ consciousness. Women and their daughters are currently striving to fuse the economy with culture to revitalize the cultural legacy of Mosuli cuisine through the production, sale, and promotion of Mosuli dishes using social media and online sales platforms.

Nour Mahmoud was born in 1998 in Mosul, a city that has endured the most challenging stages of Iraq’s history. She grew up in difficult conditions, much like her fellow Mosuli women. However, Nour, who is currently a professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Mosul, is also an artist who blends taste, art, and pharmaceutical chemistry to create recipes that nourish both the body and the soul.

After surviving the brutal ISIS occupation and the terror that ravaged the city for three years, Nour decided to fight for a better future for herself and achieve independence as a woman. She believes that women are vital in society and must be self-reliant. For Nour, the woman is the soul of Mosul, and it is from this soul that the city’s path to the future derives.

Nour collaborated with her mother, Khaleda Ghanem, an agricultural engineer who has spent her life studying fresh agricultural products from the farms of Mosul, to establish a small Mosuli kitchen project that Nour named “Fatafeet.”

The cuisine of Mosul is deeply ingrained in the family system and is instrumental in promoting social impact, education, and moral values. It is closely related to developing plans for continuing life, financial management at home, family management, and economic training. Teaching cooking is an enjoyable pastime and an integral part of socialization and steadfastness. It is associated with culture and education, motivating women to continuously educate themselves and stay abreast of developments to achieve higher proficiency levels. This empowers women, enhancing their social status and prospects.

For Nour, the soul of Mosul is embodied in its women, be they doctors, engineers, or students, and their achievements contribute to the city’s revival, not just for women but for all of Mosul. Supporting women means supporting the entire society.

“Mosul is a resilient and powerful city that has risen from the ashes, teaching us that there is always an opportunity and that a flower can grow from a stone. I have done everything in my power to restore life to myself and my family, and I am confident in my ability to provide the best for my city. I do not want to see weak girls; they provoke me greatly. I aspire to see strong women excelling in science, literature, arts, and cooking.”

Nour’s message to women is empowerment and self-reliance, emphasizing the importance of education and planning to achieve dreams. She urges women to recognize their strengths, energy, and capabilities, which can only be discovered through experience and learning. Equality is a necessary right that must be defended and protected, and participation between men and women is essential to society’s awareness and the promotion of women’s creativity.

For Nour and her mother, the Fatafeat project not only revives the intangible cultural heritage of Mosul but also encourages women to enter public spaces, work, innovate, and start their projects. The revitalization of women’s roles in Mosul has become more effective, with female doctors playing a critical role in overseeing patients’ health and many girls entering the arts, sciences, and sports after enduring great difficulties. Nour acknowledges that she could not have accomplished her work without the support of girls like her.

The “Fatafeet” project, established by Nour and her mother, not only achieved economic success but also significantly contributed to introducing the Mosuli community to the kitchen and its vital role in reviving the spirit of Mosul and its relationship with the city’s social harmony. The revitalization of Mosul’s spirit is related to restoring its tangible heritage and helping its residents recover their cultural and social style by introducing the community to the importance of the cultural economy.

The “Fatafeet” project is a pioneering initiative in this field that can be further developed and become part of non-heritage preservation systems. The cultural economy flourishes by linking cultural heritage to the economy, making heritage preservation more accessible to everyone. This is the mission of UNESCO, mainly through its “Revive the Spirit of Mosul” initiative, which continuously involves the local population in developing their city.