Baghdad Community Garden

Mesopotamia—or the “land between two rivers”—has also been known for thousands of years as the Middle East’s “fertile crescent.” The rich soil and temperate climate of the valleys between the Tigris and Euphrates turned ancient Iraq into prime real estate for some of the world’s most ancient civilizations 5,000 years ago. However, after thousands of years of deforestation, climate change, war, and water mismanagement, the land in Iraq is hot and arid and plagued by dust storms year round.

Armed with faith in Iraq’s fruitful history, a whole lot of optimism, and some hot-weather seeds, a small group of avid gardeners, novices, and curious expatriates at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad teamed up to dig out an area previously slated for a basketball court to establish the Embassy’s first-ever community garden. Two years and sixty plots later, the community garden has produced a seemingly endless crop of Iraqi cucumbers, herbs, salad greens, flowers, and an incredible giant pumpkin.

Tended to by African, European, Asian, Hispanic, and American staff members, the community garden has brought together dozens of people from all over the world to share gardening tips, stories, and delectable international dishes. In an environment where many employees are separated from their families and often subject to risks outside of the Embassy walls, the garden has become a peaceful retreat, a modern day garden of Eden in a land just east of the original.