Baghdad Dating Game Adapts to War

A couple holds hands as they walk through Zawraa, the city's largest park, in Baghdad, Iraq, June 21, 2007. Iraq's violence has raged unabated for more than four years, bringing grief and despair to millions and influencing every facet of life. Dating is one casualty of this heartless war. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) (Hadi Mizban - AP)

BAGHDAD -- Wherefore art thou, Kareem?

Well, he could be making the daily cell phone call to his girlfriend, Dalia. Or maybe he's off somewhere typing her a tender text message or e-mail.

Basically he's anywhere but on an actual date with the woman he says he loves.

Romance always has been one of the expected casualties of war. So in Baghdad _ with no end to the violence in sight _ the dating game has been forced to adapt.

Sweet nothings are whispered into cell phones. Inboxes are full of flirtations. Even old-style matchmaking is getting back in vogue.

The high risks of going out far outweigh the pleasures of courtship.

"The worst was when we were talking in a cafe one time and we heard a nearby explosion and gunfire," recalled Kareem Abdul-Aziz about one outing with 24-year-old Dalia. "We weren't sure if the streets would be safe enough for us to go home."

That ended one of their few real dates since their first encounter about six months ago when Abdul-Aziz, who sells children's clothes in a central Baghdad market, slipped a piece of paper with his name and number into Dalia's shopping bag.

Abdul-Aziz, 25, now speaks with her for an average of two hours every day _ usually late at night. The local cell phone company offers huge discounts on local calls made between midnight and noon the next day.

"We have only met a handful of times," said Abdul-Aziz, despair in his voice.

Baghdad has changed almost beyond recognition over the past four years since the U.S. invasion, and little or nothing remains that would inspire romance or help it flourish.

Instead, the streets are lined with concrete blast barriers topped with barbed wire and plastered with black banners announcing yet another death. Stinking, uncollected garbage and men with guns fill out the picture.