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Iraq’s Buildings’ Legacy Provides Look into Past, Opportunity for Future
By Ahmad Hammadi Abdulameer, Baghdad Now
BAGHDAD, Iraq – As Task Force 1st Armored Division Soldiers work with their Iraqi partners to build a safe and secure Iraq, other Iraqis are working to restore and preserve Iraq’s cultural legacy.
Under the auspices of the ministry of culture, a one-man photo exhibition on the history and restoration of Baghdad’s architecturally historic buildings opened in the National Museum last month.
Baghdad’s historic houses and buildings is the subject of the 40-photograph show, said Ammar Saad, the exhibition organizer and photographer.
“Photographic documentation showing the negligence and the destruction that took place during the previous era to traditional buildings and houses, some built about a century ago, sends two messages to the viewer,” he said.
The first message concerns the aesthetical aspect of the old architecture found in these buildings and the second message is a humanitarian one, Saad explained. The question of maintaining the old architectural legacy of Iraq is of concern of many Iraqi people.
Saad explored many Baghdad neighborhoods to make his collection of photographs. Locations include structures in the Keremat, Shawaka, Salehia, Adhamiya, Batawiyeen, Al-Rasheed Street, and Abu-Nawas Street neighborhoods.
“I found masterpieces of artistic works embodied in the old architecture of the old Baghdadi houses,” he said. “There are marvelous techniques the old architectural engineers adopted when building these houses.”
Saad said by demolishing these old houses or buildings, Baghdadis would lose a great architectural legacy that characterizes their culture, city and country.
“I employed this exhibition to keep the old legacy from getting lost,” he said.
During the previous era, many of the old houses were demolished and new houses were built, Saad explained. These new houses have no relationship with the site they were built on or with the type of architecture that was prevailing in the neighborhood.
“This action created a condition of unbalance,” he said.
Also, the former regime neglected these places to the extent that they became unpleasant or difficult to live in, he said.
“(But) nobody could complain about that because of the oppression of the ex-regime,” he said.
Now, as Iraq is entering a new era, it is the responsibility of all Iraqis to maintain the architectural legacy represented by these old houses, Saad said.
“Now, we can think, research, suggest new ideas without being afraid of the consequences,” he said.
In addition to providing residents with homes that fit into their heritage, there is an economic benefit to preserving Baghdad’s architectural history, he said. More tourists will visit the country, providing income to the country and to local residents and their businesses.
“Paying attention to architectural legacies will preserve the identity that characterizes Iraq and will add a new shining picture to the country of the old civilization of Mesopotamia,” he said.
CUTLINE: Baghdad’s neighborhoods are home to many historic buildings representing the city’s history and culture, according to photographer Ammar Saad. An exhibit of his photographs of Baghdad’s architectural legacy is on display at the National Museum. (Courtesy photo)
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