Al-Rashid Street, Baghdad
Al-Rashid Street is one of the main avenues in downtown Baghdad, Iraq. Named after Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid, it is one of the most significant landmarks of the city due to its political, spiritual, urban, and cultural history. Opened from al-Maidan Square, the boulevard is considered an important urban heritage site of Baghdad and bears witness to what Iraq has gone through in terms of political events, intellectual stature, and commercial success that Iraq saw over more than a century, as well as being a tourist attraction. The avenue includes many historic landmarks such as Haydar-Khana Mosque, the Mirjan Mosque, al-Zahawi Café, and Souk al-Haraj.
Historically, the street has gone by many names. Al-Rashid Street became recognized as a symbol of the transformation of Baghdad due to the many changes the city has seen through the last century. The street has been compared to various notable streets around the world such as the Champs-Élysées in Paris, the Muhammad Ali Street in Cairo, and the Hamra Street in Beirut due to their artistic, historic, and influential significance. The street has also been suggested to be enlisted on UNESCO's World Heritage Site due to its history and significance and many efforts were done to get it enlisted and was observed as the main historic avenue and commerce area of Baghdad in the past and its area was compared to the Rive Gauche in Paris.
In recent years, the avenue has been recognized as the heart of Baghdad and nicknamed "Baghdad's living memory" due to its significance.
Name
The street names were changed several times such as "Hindenburg Street" a name used by the British and then later "al-Nasr Street". It was until the name settled on its current name in 1936, which was launched by the Iraqi linguist and historian Mustafa Jawad after Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid. The name "Al-Rashid" was an honorific title given to the Abbasid Caliph which meant "followers of the right path."Historical background
Early establishment
Before the establishment of the street, the areas around the current street held several significant positions. These include localities in which Christians lived, especially near the St. Joseph Latin Cathedral which was built in 1866 located near the current street, silversmith shops that the Baghdadi Sabian-Mandaeans community operated, the shrine of Ibn Ruh al-Nawbakhti, the souks of al-Shorja, the ancient Sayyid Sultan Ali Mosque, several Abbasid Era commercial centers, the Khan Mirjan for merchants, the old Mirjan Mosque, several coffeehouses, and the Haydar-Khana Mosque. One of the localities, the Sababikh al-A'al locality, was also the home of several foreign missionaries such as the first French consul to Baghdad, followed by the American consul, and the directors of several British companies.The street's origin dates back to the late Ottoman Empire period. Between 1915 and 1917, the demolition of around 700 houses took place to pave the way for the road. The demolishing was carried out by a group of German military engineers, Germany being the main ally of the Ottomans during World War I, and was named "Halil Pasha Street" after Ottoman army general Halil Pasha who was governor of Baghdad at the time. The avenue was opened in 1914 by the Ottoman administration as a modern avenue for transportation and to expand trade. Because the narrow road networks that were common in Iraq at the time didn't suit carriages or transportation, the street was wider with sidewalks that included arcades that acted as shading for pedestrians. The street would later be expanded along the older parts of Baghdad and was always kept parallel to the Tigris River.
The road was originally paved to coumarate the Siege of Kut. However, the street's gull construction was completed once the British Empire took over Iraq and was wide enough for vehicles to pass through. The street became shaded by hanging balconies which were held by arcades. During the British colonialist rule of Iraq, the Haydar-Khana Mosque, a mosque located on the street, started to become one of the brewing aspects of the Iraqi Revolt due to how frequent the notables and personalities of the city gathered in opposition to the British. British troops reportedly stormed the mosque in an attempt to arrest the revolutionaries. One instance, the Haydar-Khana Mosque saw several anti-British meetings by Iraqi Muslims and prominent Iraqi figures. On 23 May 1920, the mosque was one of the many mosques where mawlid was held. A speech was given by young Iraqis, including Mullah 'Uthman al-Mawsili, in favor of expelling the British. In response, British forces exiled al-Mawsili to Basra. Iraqis on the street responded by closing shops on the road and protesting, calling for a national government. This led the British forces to block the road and close it. They would then surge the mosque using an armored car, at least one person was reported to have been killed during this event which was a deaf-mute who got run over after getting his foot stuck. Even after the independence of the Kingdom of Iraq, the area stayed as a hot spot for revolutionary gatherings.
Flourishing during the Kingdom of Iraq
Al-Rashid Street became home to many political and cultural events and establishments. As well as Baghdad's most famous coffeehouses, restaurants, and markets. Coffeehouses such as ones themed after Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum and the al-Zahawi Café. This caused artists, students, and intellectuals to visit the avenue commonly. Due to this, al-Rashid Street became the main street for the coffeehouse culture of Baghdad, alongside Abu Nuwas Street. Throughout the decades, literary coffeehouses started to be established and were inhabited by all generations. Some coffeehouses started to be associated with the big three Neo-Classical Iraqi poets al-Zahawi, al-Rusafi, and al-Jawahiri, who met with several younger poets in the cultural coffeehouses. Al-Rashid Street was also connected to al-Mutanabbi Street which played a role in exposing readers to old and new Arabic knowledge alongside translated global knowledge. Many newly established printers were established on that street.Examples of prominent coffeehouses on the avenue were the Arif Agha Café, which was inhabited by al-Rusafi, al-Zahawi Café, which was famous for its literary battles between al-Zahawi and al-Rusafi, and Hassan 'Ajami Café, which was inhabited by al-Jawahiri and was also his favorite. The Hassan 'Ajami Café was also located next to the Shamash School for Iraqi Jews, as well as the Hajj Zabala Shop for Raisins Juice and al-Sayyid's Cakes that was located in front of the former. Other coffeehouses that were on the street were the Parliament Café, which al-Jawahiri also visited frequently, and the Brazilian Café which was the home to the modern Iraqi literary movement, and was where Iraqi painter Jawad Saleem claimed he learned the use of color from. The Brazilian Café, alongside another nearby Coffeehouse named the Swiss Café, was unique compared to the coffeehouses due to their European items and theme. The coffeehouses also saw political activities such as gatherings in protest against the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1948, which were held in the Hassan 'Ajami Café.
Around the 1930s, many cinemas and theaters such as al-Rashid Cinema, al-Zawra'a Cinema, and Roxy Cinema started to be established on al-Rashid Street. The cinemas were divided between summer and winter theaters and showed Flash Gordon, Fox Film, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films. Cinemas played a major role in Iraqi society, and Baghdadi cinemas used to distribute weekly advertisements for movies in Arabic and English. At the time, going to cinemas was a weekly event for the working and the middle class. Thursday became the traditional day of the week when Baghdadi families went to theatres and acted as a break day for students. Around the mid-1950s, many cinemas in Bab al-Sharqi area started demolishing.
During the 1950s, the street saw a flourishing in commercial and financial centers which also spread to the nearby street called "Al-Samu'al Street" which became known for its financial pulse and role in the Baghdadi stock exchange at the time. This street area contained the main al-Rafidain Bank headquarters and other private commercial banks. Before 1948, many of the workers in these financial institutions were Iraqi Jews, Indians, and British people. Iraqi businessmen met with sellers in coffeehouses on al-Samu'al Street to complete sales and discuss purchasing bargains.
Visits from foreign celebrities
One of the most influential figures to visit Iraq during the Royal era was the Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum. She hosted several concerts around al-Rashid Street's theaters. Most notably the al-Hilal Theater which Umm Kulthum visited in 1932 with a welcoming poem recited by al-Rusafi. Al-Istiqlal newspaper published an article about the visit entitled “The Magic of Babylon and Pharaohs at the al-Hilal Nightclub" in which it documented that starting from 18 October 1932, Umm Kulthum hosted eight concerts in the theater. Umm Kulthum's popular song "Baghdad, O' Castle of Lions" would be broadcast daily for decades until 2003 in the wake of the US invasion of Iraq. Due to Umm Kulthum's popularity, coffeehouses themed after her were established and visited by her Iraqi fans.Another well-known figure to visit Baghdad was Indian Bengali poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore in 1932 who also visited al-Zahawi Café and met with the Iraqi poet that the coffeehouse takes its name. Another celebrity who also visited the street was the Syrian-Egyptian singer Fayza Ahmed who, just like Umm Kulthum, held concerts in several theaters.
During the Republic of Iraq
During the 14 July Revolution, the 1958 military coup that overthrew the Iraqi Monarchy, the Crown Prince Abd al-Ilah's corpse was dragged along the street and then cut to pieces. That day, the street was full of demonstrations and marches. During the afternoon of that same day, many bodies were dragged into the street including the body of a Jordanian delegation from the Hashemite Federal Parliament who happened to be on a visit to Iraq was dragged through the area with a stick being shoved into his bottom while the crowded shouted for the capture of Muhammad Fadhel al-Jamali, the former-Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs. Iraq and Jordan were united into the Arab Federation at the time. It was also around this time Iraqi photographer Latif al-Ani started to take pictures of the daily life at the street.The following year after the overthrow, on 7 October 1959 Iraqi Republican leader Abd al-Karim Qasim, who led the revolt that overthrew the Monarchy, narrowly avoided death in a botched assassination attempt during a residential motorcade on the avenue. The assassination attempt was planned out by the regional leadership of the early Ba'ath Party. A young Saddam Hussein participated in the assassination attempt. The plan was to have five of the perpetrators stand behind the pillars of the buildings on the street in front of the Brazilian Café and open fire on Qasim. Saddam would then emerge from the Umm Kulthum Café, which he sat in, and then shoot Qasim. The leader then jumped out of the car in time. Soldiers on the car reacted. While Qasim survived, his assistant, Qasim al-Janabi, was killed in the attack by one of the assassins. Saddam had also injured one of his legs in the attack. Seventy-eight members of the Ba'ath Party were arrested and put on trial. The Ba'ath would later gain enough support to overthrow Qasim.
By the beginning of the 1960s, al-Rashid Street started to lose a lot of European products of higher quality that were imported from outside countries and made the street's markets famous. Despite its loss, al-Rashid Street remained the living center of Baghdad throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Many of its libraries, restaurants, coffeehouses, and theaters still being active with a statue of al-Rusafi in the middle of the street.
Throughout the era of president Saddam Hussein, al-Rashid Street remained the main center of Baghdad despite some of the older buildings being worn out. The street became more busy with organized thoroughfare. The most notable and active parts of the avenue were the shops, coffeehouses, art museums, banks, schools, and the historic mosques located within the avenue. With the street still connecting to old Baghdadi suburbs that contain narrow alleyways.