Baghdad's historic homes crumble as real estate booms

Record ID: 1692117

  • Title: Baghdad's historic homes crumble as real estate booms
  • Date: 6th October 2022
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) CIVIL ENGINEER AND ONE OF THE OWNERS OF A HERITAGE HOUSE IN BAGHDAD, FAIZ FALIH AL-QASSAD, SAYING: "It represents to us good memories. But as you know, with the passing of the time, and with the house, as I said, being in danger of falling because of the erosion of its wood and metal, unfortunately, now it is too late to renovate." VARIOUS OF VASES AND FURNITURE FROM THE BAGHDAD HERITAGE HOUSE ON DISPLAY IN AL-QASSAD'S HOME BAGHDAD, IRAQ (SEPTEMBER 26, 2022) (REUTERS) SARSAM WALKING INTO OFFICE VARIOUS OF SARSAM IN OFFICE USING HER MOBILE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE BURJ BABEL INITIATIVE TO PROTECT HERITAGE, DHIKRA SARSAM, SAYING: "The ministry isn't implementing all of the clauses of the law (concerning heritage homes) in terms of paying homeowners a sum of money that can be used to renovate and maintain the homes. These old homes need constant renovation because of the state they are in and because of the old materials used in their construction. So, the process of renovating them is very expensive, and that is why even though most of the homeowners have left Iraq, they circumvent the law by destroying these homes and claiming that they collapsed on their own, not because of any interference, but because of the passing of time and their age.”
  • Embargoed: 20th October 2022 13:00
  • Keywords: Baghdad Heritage Homes Heritage Houses Iraq Real Estate Rennovation
  • Location: BAGHDAD, IRAQ AND AMMAN, JORDAN
  • City: BAGHDAD, IRAQ AND AMMAN, JORDAN
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Living/Lifestyle,Middle East,Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA005034006102022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Overlooking the Tigris river in Baghdad, a 100-year-old Iraqi mansion stands dilapidated and neglected. Visitors hoping to catch a glimpse of its faded glory are warned off by a sign near the door saying: "Danger of collapse".
    The 16-room building once boasted latticed windows, delicate carvings, a balcony and an inner courtyard dotted with fruit trees.
    Now, like many of Baghdad's roughly 2,500 remaining historic houses, it is falling apart. Decades of political turmoil, neglect, soaring real estate prices and a lack of funds have taken their toll on the buildings which are part of the city's architectural past.
    "This is one of the most important remaining heritage houses," said Dhikra Sarsam, founding member of the Burj Babel Initiative which works to preserve the Iraqi capital's cultural history.
    Built about a century ago, the house was left in disrepair for years, one of its owners, civil engineer and consultant Faiz Falih al-Qassab, told Reuters.
    He said that the area where the house is located was chosen as the site for an opera house under former president Saddam Hussein and up until 2015. No renovations were allowed during that time, but the opera house was never built.
    "Now it is too late to renovate," he said from his home in neighbouring Jordan, where he has kept old pieces of furniture rescued from the Baghdad house.
    From her own home just next door to the historic house owned by Qassab, Sarsam works to raise awareness of the need to preserve old Baghdad.
    Owners of listed buildings are not allowed to demolish them, and the government can provide loans or grants for renovations, if needed. But the government is not committing to this at the moment, Sarsam said.
    There is no budget allocated to support owners, Mohammed al-Rubaye, the head of media and public relations at the Mayoralty of Baghdad told Reuters.
    With the help of UNESCO, the government last year renovated al-Mutanabbi street, a Baghdad landmark which bustles with booksellers and artists. But residential alleyways nearby are dotted with crumbling homes and "shanasheel" - traditional balconies with ornate woodwork - are falling apart.
    To circumvent the ban on demolishing listed buildings, owners sometimes flood or set fire to them, Rubaye said. Local officials often turn a blind eye to this deliberate destruction.
    The motive is clear - Baghdad real estate prices are high and selling land for development is profitable.
    The relative stability in Baghdad in recent years and the recovery in oil prices since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 have provided a positive backdrop for the real estate market in the city.
    Sarsam sometimes receives calls from neighbours worried about a potential demolition, and rushes to the site.
    As she walks past the ruins of a 1930s mansion in Baghdad's Abu Nawas street, which runs along the eastern bank of the Tigris, Sarsam points at traces of fire darkening its crumbling interior walls.
    "It surely did not collapse on its own," Sarsam said. After she contacted authorities, they stopped it from being demolished and cordoned off the building. But its fate remains uncertain.
    "A few of these houses have the specific columns and inscriptions that classify it as a grade A heritage home. This is why we see it as a huge loss for future generations who will see their city void of any landmarks that reflect its identity and document its history," she said.
    (Production: Haider Kadhim, Muath Freij, Charlotte Bruneau)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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