Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Iraqi Ministry of Culture is preparing for the inauguration of a new exhibition hall in Baghdad that will display a unique collection of Iraqi modern art after years of painstaking work to salvage what remains of the work of some of the country’s most famous
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—The National Heritage Museum in the Iraqi capital Baghdad is reopening after having been closed for 10 years following its being looted during the US-led invasion and fall of former dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Mohannad Al-Shawi, director of
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Political and media figures welcomed the return of Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper to Iraq’s newsstands on Tuesday after a 10 month absence. A Baghdad newsstand owner, Abu Zaina, said he was happy to see the return of the pan-Arab daily to Iraq; he erected a large sign alert
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Despite severe violence and unrest in Iraq and widespread rumors that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is approaching the outskirts of its capital, the 6th Baghdad International Film Festival went ahead as planned last week. Out of the 750 films participating from
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—The family of Mohamed Aref, a young man from Mosul, did not hesitate to organize their son’s wedding in a school in Baghdad. They had taken shelter in the school together with large groups of internally displaced people who escaped the Islamic State of Iraq and S
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—First Lt. Rasha Al-Tayar, the only policewoman in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, doesn’t hide her delight at people being shocked seeing her on her way to work every day. “At first, people were astonished when they saw me in my military uniform. Now I see it as part of my job
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraqi actors are expressing their solidarity with the country’s persecuted minority groups in a new play, titled N—or “Nun,” the initial letter of the Arabic word for Christians, Nasara, which the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) painted on the houses of Mo
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—More than forty years have passed since he first stood in the street directing the traffic, and locals’ affection for him continues to grow despite the fact he has the authority to enforce the law against them. That’s because Baghdad’s most celebrated traffic officer Adnan M
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—A coffeehouse that was damaged in a 2007 car bombing in Baghdad’s famed Al-Mutanabbi Street is still buzzing with intellectuals nearly a hundred years since it first opened its doors. Shabandar coffeehouse is located in the heart of Al-Mutanabbi Street’s celebrated book mark
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—It seems the only thing that Iraqi insurgents—whether they are affiliated with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or otherwise—share in common is their preoccupation with a dark side of history and their refusal to acknowledge the aesthetic and historical
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Wessam, 21, owns a small kiosk selling CDs in Al-Alawai district in downtown Baghdad. He is trying to keep up with the demand for patriotic music, a genre that has sharply risen in popularity since the government gave instructions for the anthems to be played at checkpoints
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—A seventy-year-old restaurant in Baghdad’s literary heartland, Al-Mutanabbi Street, could be the smallest and most renowned eatery in the Iraqi capital. Since it opened, the establishment has maintained its tradition of serving only one dish, kabba al-saray, a name derived f
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—“There have been attempts to smuggle a number of rare Iraqi manuscripts from a number of libraries in Mosul to Turkey, including a rare Qur’an which dates back to the Abbasid era,” the head of Iraq’s State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, Qais Hussein, told Asharq Al
