A few days ago, Al-Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad, famous for its libraries, was opened after a restoration it underwent, allowing this vital artery in the Iraqi capital to restore some of its former glory.
The street is usually crowded on Fridays with pioneers, especially students and youth, as well as artists and intellectuals of the previous generation.
In 1932, during the reign of King Faisal I, the historic street was named after the famous poet Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi (915 – 965), who was born during the Abbasid state.
Involving the private sector
Economists believed that the participation of the private sector, such as private banks, as well as independent bodies, such as the Central Bank, contributed to accelerating the pace of business. To free these parties from the complex routine procedures, which opens up greater prospects for the completion of the large project.
In this context, the Executive Director of the Iraqi Banks Association, Ali Tariq, said: “The rehabilitation of Al-Mutanabi Street came with the financing and support of the Central Bank of Iraq and the Association of Private Banks, through the Tamkeen Fund for Community Initiatives, which is funded by private banks, and under the supervision of the Baghdad Municipality.”
Tariq added, in a statement to “Sky News Arabia”, that “the engineering and construction works included removing visual distortions, renovating all buildings and floors, unifying shop fronts, advertising pieces and stalls, in addition to making electricity underground, and equipping the street with modern lighting,” pointing out that “All the works managed by the engineering department of the fund preserved the identity of the street without compromising its ancient heritage or the architectural form of the buildings.”
Al-Mutanabbi Street was not alone within this path launched by the Al-Kazemi government, in cooperation with the private sector, where the Mayor of the capital, Baghdad, Architect Alaa Maan, announced the inclusion of Al-Mutanabi Street, one of the oldest streets in the capital, within the “Baghdad Renaissance” campaign.
Maan said in a press statement: “The Baghdad Renaissance project continues to provide vital infrastructure projects, develop streets and neighborhoods of the capital, as well as the beauty industry, through creative artworks jointly implemented by professors, academics and great creators from the artistic community.”
The Mayor of Baghdad called on “intellectuals and artists to participate in the maturation and development of ideas in the project to rehabilitate Al-Rasheed Street, which the Baghdad Municipality is preparing to start and transform into a new scene comparable to Al-Mutanabbi Alley.”
Rasheed Street
Al-Rasheed Street is one of the oldest and most famous streets of Baghdad, and it contains a number of mosques and archaeological sites, such as the “Al-Haidarkhana” mosque, which was built by Daoud Pasha in 1819 AD, the Marjan Mosque, and the Sayed Sultan Ali Mosque. It also contains famous old markets, including Haraj Market and Saray Market.
With the advent of the current prime minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, in May of last year, he launched the “Baghdad Renaissance” campaign; With the aim of reconstructing areas of the capital, and important archaeological sites.
The Iraqi cultural circles hope, through this campaign, to show the true face of Baghdad, after years of neglect and preoccupation with improving the security situation.
These circles also demanded the development of a road map for all the important sites in the city of Baghdad that need rehabilitation and restoration, and put it before the competent authorities, such as the Baghdad Municipality, in addition to the Central Bank and the Association of Iraqi Banks, which previously adopted several similar campaigns.
Ahmed Al-Alawi, spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Culture, stressed that “the rehabilitation of these sites means a lot to Baghdad, and we need to rehabilitate their streets of a cultural and heritage nature, as well as squares and areas that are rich in Iraqi cultural and historical memory.”
The Iraqi official indicated, during his speech to “Sky News Arabia”, that “these achievements are counted by multiple parties that participated in them, and they represent a new starting point for encouraging cultural aspects and restoring their activity.”
He pointed out that “there is a noticeable decline in the world with regard to the issue of communication with writers, due to the prevalence of communication sites that have weakened a person’s relationship with books, but such qualified streets can increase that relationship.”
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