The New York Times Agency Photos
IRAQ BAGHDAD SALONS 2
Iraqis at a Baghdad literary salon in January 2010. For centuries salons were a vital part of Iraqi intellectual life, places where people of different classes or sects met to discuss culture, literature or ideas. At one time Baghdad had more than 200 salons, about a quarter of them run by Jews, said Tariq Harb, a lawyer who is a regular at several salons and hosts his own. (Eros Hoagland/The New York Times)