Restoration drive

The municipality, in partnership with an association of private banks, has taken on two major restoration projects, including Al-Mutanabi Street, famous for its many bookshops. They are also restoring another street that houses the old Serail, or Ottoman Empire’s seat of government. The restoration has primarily involved repaving sidewalks, updating lighting and cleaning up facades.

Mohammed Al-Soufi, an architect overseeing the restoration, noted the “aesthetic value of the brick buildings”, dating from the 19th century and the 1920s and 1930s. Among the many challenges in restoring the area is the difficulty in obtaining permission from the original owners, many of whom no longer live in Iraq, as well as a lack of funding.

The Baghdad municipality’s next focus will be Al-Rashid Street, inaugurated in 1916. “It’s the soul of old Baghdad, its identity,” said the municipality’s head of communications Mohammed Al-Rubaye. But the once-vital artery now houses mostly warehouses, industrial machinery and motor oil stores. Authorities plan to move these activities to the outskirts. “We’re not telling people to leave. We’re telling them to stay, but let’s turn the wholesale warehouses into stores, cafes, cinemas and cultural and heritage sites,” Rubaye said. — AFP