Dancing on Ruins
A visual history of design in Iraq, from invention to destruction to radical preservation
- Words Dalia Al-Dujaili
“Are you Sha’lan Abu Fatima?” I ask as I follow him into an alleyway off Mutanabbi Street and up the stairs of an almost-abandoned building. “I’ve been looking for you!” I add in shoddy Arabic after he nods. I’ve come to Baghdad to source second-hand books for my growing library, HIKMA, and was told Sha’lan would be the best merchant for these treasures. On this ancient street, named after Al-Mutanabbi, Iraq’s beloved 9th-century poet, countless books have been bought and sold over decades. Baghdad loves books. “Cairo writes, Beirut prints and Baghdad reads,” goes the saying. “The reader does not steal, and the thief does not read,” goes another, suggesting no need to lock books away at
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