The name "Baghdad" currently evokes only associations of violence and destruction. But "Baghdad" also denotes an often harmonious coexistence of different denominations in the past or for groundbreaking scientific achievements, for fantasies, dreams and transfiguration, for "fairy tale from 1000 and one night". Author Eli Amir shows this contradiction of Oriental zest for life and violence in his the book "The Pigeon Fanciers of Baghdad". Amir knows Iraq firsthand from the family history, he is a native of Baghdad. 1951 at age 14, he emigrated to Israel, where he studied Arabic literature and history of the Middle East. The author is not only perfectly familiar with the Arab culture and history, but is also a highly political person as his later life proves; he acted as personal adviser to Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres. As such, he was also involved in several international peace negotiations. He is currently the Head of the Department for the inclusion of young people in the "Jewish Agency". Main character of the novel is the young Kabi. He describes his daily life in Baghdad, - is particularly marked by issues of identity - at the time of the founding of the state of Israel. All of this is exacerbated by the conflict, the Kabi must make with yourself: puberty. Kabi falls in love with Amira, daughter of pigeon breeder from the neighborhood. The reader is given insight from Kabi's perspective into the sometimes times tolerated, even more threatened, but always precarious situation of Iraqi Jews in a Muslim environment.