Baghdad Rusafa

Behind this long site name hides what could be called “Old Baghdad”, the area from which the Abassid Caliphate (762–1258) ruled and where the Ottomans later had their headquarters as well. It is closely tied to its position on the eastern river bank of the Tigris, and the Tentative Description also proposes it as a City of the River, like Paris and Budapest. Baghdad nowadays markets itself as the ‘Capital of Arab Tourism 2025,’ and this is a focus area in the city for tourists. The area has been in a rehabilitation process since 2017 (it had been neglected and damaged in the decades before) and is bustling again. There have been reports about a possible lack of adherence to scientific archaeological standards in the restorations. Still, to me, it felt quite tastefully done (at least more restrained than at other monuments handled during Saddam’s times). 

We approached it on foot, crossing the bridge, from where you already have a panoramic view of the area with some tiled minarets and domes standing out. It’s also the location of the old Souk, part of it still in a covered market hall. They sell school supplies, a few souvenirs, there is a Book Street and the famed ‘intellectual’ Shabandar Café, plus a separate Copper Market with craftsmen that have been working there for generations.

The tentative site focuses on the monumental buildings in the area. The first one we entered was Al-Qishleh, a former Ottoman military headquarters. It’s a fine building in itself, you can walk the upper corridors as a coffee shop has opened up there. The main attraction lies in the garden though, a Clock Tower known as “a gift to the King of Iraq by the British in 1927” (the inner clockwork was) but the tower itself was built 50 years before by the Ottomans “to alarm military troops in the base in the morning for the time of training”. 

We continued with a short boat trip on the Tigris along the monumental river bank. There wasn’t any explanation given as to what buildings were which we were passing – the boat operator preferring to blast western pop songs from the 1980s through the sound system. The buildings, except for the Clock Tower, aren’t that visible anyway, as most lie a bit further back, and the riverbank has been fortified against floodings.

The major attraction at the far end is the Abassid Palace. Unfortunately we weren’t going to visit it, the local guide said it closed in the afternoon. But I suspect that he found that one major Abbasid monument would be enough for a general tour of the area, and for that we went to the Al-Mustansiriya school building (lower 2 photos). This was the Abbasid's higher center of learning, not only theological but also scientific with medicine and maths. You enter the large complex via a monumental gate. Inside awaits a two-storey building based on a four-iwan plan. One could argue that there are many similar structures in Iran and Uzbekistan, but this is an outstanding monument in its own right (also for its teaching) and still is considered one of the most authentic and best-preserved Abassid work of architecture globally. It dates back to 1227.