Tea, Anyone?

You are looking at the gifts Ty purchased for me and had sent home from Iraq. Because they are so heavy and breakable, he shipped them home separately rather than trying to bring them home in his luggage, thus having them arrive approximately a week after he came home.

This is a tea set that Ty bought from the locals. They make their tea sets by carving them out of rock. As you can see, not one of the cups are the same, they all have their own unique and beautiful markings. When looking at them up close they actually look like marble, they are absolutely gorgeous and are comparable in size to a shot glass. There are more cups included with this set, however I didn't set them all out for the picture.

Behind the tea set is a prayer rug the Muslims use to pray toward Mecca everyday. The top part of the rug has a picture of Mecca and the bottom part is what is displayed in the picture. Now I highly doubt you'll find me on my knees in the middle of my living room anytime soon praying or chanting toward Mecca, but I am definitely thrilled to actually have an important part of their heritage, rug and tea set included.

Thanks, Ty, you're the best :)