Inside the Jawahiri house, a tribute to Iraq's iconic poet

Record ID: 1688623

  • Title: Inside the Jawahiri house, a tribute to Iraq's iconic poet
  • Date: 11th September 2022
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF VISITOR LOOKING AT EXHIBITION PANELS IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE PICTURES OF IRAQI POET, MUHAMMAD MAHDI AL-JAWAHIRI, HANGING ON THE WALL BOOKS ON DISPLAY GRANDSON OF MUHAMMAD MAHDI AL-JAWAHIRI, AMMAR MUHAMMAD MAHDI AL-JAWAHIRI, LOOKING AT ITEMS ON DISPLAY AND SAYING (Arabic): "These are personal items that he used to wear, and this is the simple watch he wore, with big numbers so that he could see." WATCH ON DISPLAY SWORD ON DISPLAY PERSONAL ITEMS ON DISPLAY VARIOUS OF PICTURES HANGING ON THE WALL (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF MEDIA AND PUBLIC RELATIONS AT THE MUNICIPALITY OF BAGHDAD, ABD MANAAM AL-AISSAOUI, SAYING: “In every corner of this house, you find a memory of a specific event. This house where Jawahiri lived was built in 1971. The poet lived here until 1980 and this was the year when Jawahiri left the country because of his well-known patriotic positions toward the authorities at that time. Jawahiri did not use to have truces with anyone. He lived in several exiles, such as Damascus, and Cairo and then stayed in Prague which he described as paradise and he wrote beautiful poems about it.” PICTURES HANGING ON THE WALL AMMAR MUHAMMAD MAHDI AL-JAWAHIRI LOOKING AT A BOOK AND STANDING NEXT TO LIFE SIZE DOLL OF MUHAMMAD MAHDI AL-JAWAHIRI (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) GRANDSON OF MUHAMMAD MAHDI AL-JAWAHIRI, AMMAR MUHAMMAD MAHDI AL-JAWAHIRI, SAYING: "I was born in 1979 when my grandpa finally left Iraq. Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to see him, sit with him or listen to a poem from him in person. But through my relatives and my family, I heard about Jawahiri’s humanity, which is obvious in his poetry. His love for Iraq and its people." VARIOUS OF BOOKS ON DISPLAY BOOK HELD BY LIFE-SIZE DOLL / FACE OF LIFE-SIZE DOLL GRANDSON OF MUHAMMAD MAHDI AL-JAWAHIRI, AMMAR MUHAMMAD MAHDI AL-JAWAHIRI RECITING A POEM BY HIS GRANDFATHER, MAHDI MUHAMMAD AL-JAWAHIRI PICTURES ON DISPLAY ON THE WALL (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF MEDIA AND PUBLIC RELATIONS AT THE MUNICIPALITY OF BAGHDAD, ABD MANAAM AL-AISSAOUI, SAYING: "Whoever studies Jawahiri’s poetry studies Iraq’s history. (Reciting a verse from a poem). Despite his personal detachment from Iraq, he lived the misery of the country and there is a secret umbilical cord that attached Jawahiri to his country." VISITORS LOOKING AT PICTURES PICTURES ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) VISITOR, NADEEM NASER, SAYING: "Social media and new technologies made people stop reading. It made things superficial. There are diverse and beautiful cultures. The history and civilization of a country lie in its culture, and especially in Arabic literature. There are big poets, such as al- Jawahiri, and Arab poets such as Ahmed Shawqi. There are theatre performers, artists, musicians, and painters. All these are endangered because we don't shed light on them anymore. I advise (new) generations to research, even on the internet. There are museums, theatres, and cinemas. They should be dynamic, aware, and cultured." VARIOUS OF ROOMS WITH ITEMS ON DISPLAY
  • Embargoed: 25th September 2022 14:54
  • Keywords: Baghdad Culture Iraq Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri Museum Poetry
  • Location: BAGHDAD, IRAQ
  • City: BAGHDAD, IRAQ
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Middle East
  • Reuters ID: LVA002444111092022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The former house of Iraq's iconic poet Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri, recently transformed into a museum and cultural centre, is welcoming visitors in Baghdad since August this year.
    Through an exhibition of some of the poet's personal items, a library, and numerous pictures, the life and work of Jawahiri is immortalised within the walls of the house he lived in before fleeing Iraq under the Baath party.
    "Jawahiri left the country because of his well-known patriotic positions towards the authorities at that time," the Assistant Director General of the Relations and Media Directorate of the Mayoralty of Baghdad, Abdulmunem al-Iesawi, said.
    The mayoralty of Baghdad now owns the house and rehabilitated the building.
    Born in Najaf in 1899, Jawahiri took Islamic studies before becoming a poet, writer and journalist. He died in Syria's Damascus in 1997.
    (Production: Haider Kadhim, Saad Abdullah, Charlotte Bruneau, Kinda Makieh)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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