There was a time in the not too distant past when Iraq was a hotbed of intellectualism, art, and culture. This national image has all but disappeared over the past three decades, but last night’s concert by Safaafir at Busboys & Poets, the group’s second, was a celebration of Iraq’s traditions and a reminder of how fortunate we are to live in a city that provides access to such rich cultural experiences.

Though the music was unfamiliar to some of us present, the sentiments it evoked were not. The largely Iraqi audience, which included several dignitaries from the Iraqi embassy, reveled in its native music and created a joyous atmosphere that is not often associated with the country.

“This is the real face of what Iraq looks like and what it should be,” announced Busboys’ owner Andy Shallal at the start of the program. An Iraqi native, Shallal came to the United States as a small child in 1960s.

Safaafir specializes in maqam, a classical form traditionally found in Iraq’s urban centers. The driving force behind the group is Amir ElSaffar, an accomplished jazz and European classical trumpeter who was born in Chicago to an Iraqi father and American mother. He heard maqam growing up and in 2002 put his career on hold to spend six months in Baghdad to learn the classical repertoire.