BRINGING BACK HISTORY: Saray Street was once the heart of Baghdad’s administrative district

By Mustafa Jamal Murad in Baghdad

In the lively heart of Baghdad, one finds Saray Street, formerly known as Jadeed Hasan Ali Pasha Street. It sits right next to the Iraqi capital’s much loved and well known “street of books”, or Mutanabbi Street, where a book market is held every week and the city’s intellectuals are known to gather, drink tea and debate.

Saray Street is not as well-known as its more famous neighbour but is still important historically, as it was once the seat of most of Baghdad’s administrative offices.

In the past Saray Street housed courts, municipal offices, police headquarters, the prime minister’s office and state ministries. Over the years that has changed. The street was bombed in the 1930s when local military commander Bakr Sidqi al-Askari launched what was likely the first modern military coup in the Arab world against Iraq’s ruling royal family. Changes also include the demolition of the Numan Efendi Mosque and a nearby school to make way for the new Sulaymaniyah Mosque.

The name of the street actually refers to the former seat of the city’s administration which was known as the Baghdad Saray building, local architect Zaid explains.

Zaid, an expert in the city’s history, says it’s unfortunate that when the mosque was demolished the wreckers also destroyed the burial chamber there.

The more modern minaret is now one of the oldest landmarks on Saray Street. Nearby one can still see the remnants of the burned-out Baghdad administration building, a reminder of darker times during the American invasion of 2003. The building was looted, vandalized and set alight.

Saray Street lacks residential homes with one notable exception, the Bombay House. This belonged to a famous event organizer in Baghdad and later became known as Farouk al-Almani House. In 1999, the residence was renovated and is now a space to sell antiques.

There are homes in the surrounding neighbourhood and this too has a rich cultural heritage. It was a base for many Iraqi intellectuals, writers and politicians, including the Iraqi scholar Heba al-Din al-Shahristani.

In the 1930s, the neighbourhood’s demographics changed as the residents moved into newer, wealthier areas further from the centre.

After Mutanabbi Street was bombed in 2007, the Iraqi government tried to rehabilitate Saray Street again and to reopen it to visitors.

Today, ongoing restoration work there focuses on revitalizing public spaces and infrastructure and repairing external buildings to once again welcome visitors, with plans for interior renovations in the future.