Baghdad Iraqi Claims Historic Tourism Objects After Decades Of War

Historical heritage in the city of Kirkuk, Iraq. (Hamza Hamid-Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Baghdad in Iraq now claims to be a historic tourist attraction after decades of war, airstrikes, suicide acts to car bomb terror.

A professor named Muaffaq Al-Tai, 83, and architectural student Abdullah Imad, 23, became among the figures who started it. Both facilitate footing tours along the historic areas of Baghdad.

"We want to show the public what Baghdad has to offer in terms of its Islamic architecture, value, and identity," Imad said, quoted by Arab News, Sunday, October 12.

Tourists are invited to trace the Abbasid Palace decorated with relief from arabesque who is 800 years old to the 12th-century Fort Bab Al-Wastani.

A local architect, Fatima Al-Moqdad, 28, said Iraqis' interest in the preservation of this historical heritage was a new source of hope for a positive change in the country's identity after facing decades of conflict.

When young people surf the internet, they see how other nations maintain their legacy. They want and deserve the same thing," said Fatima.

Security stability has relaxed in Iraq since the militant group Daesh or ISIL was destroyed in 2017, allowing Baghdad to focus on history and culture as the capital of Iraq.