Baghdad: Book Culture and History on the Tigris

Baghdad’s cultural history is reflected in its bookshops, museums and historic buildings. Al-Mutanabbi Street lies in the heart of old Baghdad on the Tigris and is a place of cultural and intellectual life. Bookshops and publishers line the street. If you are interested in literature and the city’s intellectual life, the street offers a clear thematic focus.

Book Culture and Staged Scenes

The Baghdad Museum, located on Al-Mutanabbi Street, complements this perspective with staged depictions of traditional crafts, social customs, religious occasions and bustling local markets. It features more than 70 scenes and 500 wax figures. The street’s book culture and the staged portrayal of everyday life and customs thus offer different perspectives on Baghdad’s cultural life.

Meeting Places, Education and Urban Heritage

The Qishla building, located near Al-Mutanabbi Street, serves as a cultural and civilizational meeting place. The Mustansiriya School is one of the oldest Islamic universities and a significant building from the Abbasid period. As themes, they offer different perspectives: the Qishla represents a meeting place, while the school represents university history and Abbasid architecture.

The Baghdadi Museum documents a period in Baghdad’s history, the lives of its residents, and the city’s heritage and traditional way of life. This distinguishes it thematically from the Baghdad Museum: while the latter presents crafts, customs, religious occasions and local markets in scenes, the Baghdadi Museum focuses on the city’s history, its residents and its traditions.

The Baghdadi Cultural Center and Al-Mutanabbi Street are described as cultural lifelines of Baghdad. On October 25, 2020, the governor of Baghdad announced the resumption of cultural activities at the Baghdadi Cultural Center on Al-Mutanabbi Street.

More Historical Perspectives in Iraq

Iraq’s cultural heritage also includes the ancient sites of Hatra and Samarra. Hatra is a fortified city founded on the ruins of an Assyrian settlement. It lies in northern Iraq, between the Tigris and Euphrates, in an open semi-desert landscape. Its well-preserved double city wall testifies to Hatra’s historical importance and to the influences of Assyrian-Babylonian, Aramaic, Greek, Parthian, Roman and Arab cultures.

The archaeological city of Samarra was the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate from 836 to 892. It includes the Great Mosque from the 9th century and its spiral minaret; 80 percent of the site remains unexcavated. Samarra is considered the only preserved Islamic capital to have retained its original layout, architecture and art, including mosaics and carvings. Other examples preserved in Samarra include the Al-Malwiya and Abu Dulaf mosques, which are among the largest mosques.

Discover more destinations: Baghdad, Erbil, Najaf, Al-Karbala, Kurdistan Region, Arbil.

Return to the main travel overview: Iraq.