Baghdad, Iraq: November 2, 2025

Cecilia Clark
3 days ago
2 min read

Tahrir Square (Liberation Square) sculpture commemorating the 1958 establishment of the Republic of Iraq

On the first day of our tour, our minibus drove past Firdos Square which is where Saddam Hussein's statue was pulled off its pedestal and destroyed in 2003. Firdos Square was lined with political posters of candidates running for office. Political posters and flags were most everywhere we traveled in Iraq. According to the New York Times, there are more than 7,700 candidates from 114 party lists competing for 329 seats. The election will be on November 11, 2025.

In Baghdad we worked on street photography beginning with some monuments and ending with Old Baghdad. There is a lot of traffic in Baghdad, an understatement, and especially in Old Baghdad. Every kind of conveyance, people pushing and pulling loads of merchandise, horse carts, and bicycles moved or barely moved along Al-Rasheed Street. Vendors were set up on both sides of the street. At one fruit vendor's table, I tried a couple of fruits I did not know: soursop and a pretty orange colored egg shaped fruit that tasted like a persimmon.

We entered the bazaar at the bustling Safafeer Copper Market and continued on to the Saray Market and to the Antique Market in 200 year-old Ottoman era buildings.

While the group was in Shabandar Cafe enjoying lime tea, Dan and I chose to wait outside in the shade. While there, a couple came up to us and showed us a photo they had taken of us. She said they took the photo because we looked so cute. Many passersby waved at us and said, "welcome to Iraq." A little later a shop owner asked where we were from and said "Welcome to Iraq." Then he shared that an American officer had killed his father. He told the officer that his father was a doctor and a professor. The officer said he was sorry, but he thought the father was an insurgent. I asked this man how he could welcome us despite that tragic event at the hands of an American. He said, "the American government is bad, but the people of America are good."

After a rest at the hotel followed by dinner, as a group we went back to Inner Karada Road to experience the night market. One side of Karada Road has a wide sidewalk and merchandise was spread to the street. It was very busy and there were lots of shoppers looking for good deals.