At first, no one in the Iraqi Kurdish capital Arbil would drink the bitter coffee at Syrian refugee Abdussamad Abdulqadir's cafe. But now it's a hit, part of a growing cultural exchange.
During his opening week, he sent free cups of coffee to neighbouring shopkeepers to win new customers, but they complained it was undrinkably bitter. But now women -- Syrian and Iraqi Kurds -- are shopping and even working in markets and shopping malls until late. They, too, initially rejected Syrian Kurdish customs, but the slow integration in recent years"has deconstructed that historical rejection," said Hawzhen Ahmed, an Arbil-based academic who holds a doctorate in cultural studies.
Syria's government had long prohibited Kurds from speaking their language or celebrating their festivals and had even refused Syrian nationality for the community, worried they would threaten the state with calls for independence. Dewani, also from Qamishli, has decorated his Arbil apartment with musical instruments including guitars and the daf, a frame drum.
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