RIYADH: After decades of war, airstrikes, suicide attacks and car bombs, Baghdad is staking its claim as a heritage tourism attraction.

A fragile stability has emerged since the defeat of Daesh in 2017 allowed a greater focus on the Iraqi capital’s history and culture.

Muaffaq Al-Tai, 83, a professor, and Abdullah Imad, 23, an architecture student, organize walking tours of the city’s historic center, including an 800-year-old Abbasid palace with arabesque reliefs and the battlements of the 12th-century Bab Al-Wastani, the Central Gate.

“We want to show the public what Baghdad has to offer in terms of Islamic architecture, its value and identity,” Imad said
The renewed interest in Iraq’s heritage was “a source of hope for a positive change in our identity, and our heritage and its preservation,” said Fatima Al-Moqdad, 28, an architect.
“When young people surf the internet, they see how other nations look after their heritage. They want and deserve the same.”