Baghdad Is Changing Into Something Better

The view from the balcony of the Saj al-Reef restaurant in the Mansour neighborhood of Baghdad. Andrea DiCenzo for BuzzFeed News

Buzz Feed: Welcome To Partytown, Baghdad

Fifteen years after the US invasion, and the war against ISIS, the Iraqi capital is alive and buzzing, with bars and restaurants open til the early morning.

BAGHDAD — When Zeinab Mohamed was a teenager, she was barred from going out after dark, even in her own neighborhood. Plagued with bombings, shootings, and kidnappings, Baghdad was just too dangerous. She rushed back home after school every day, and stayed inside until the next morning. On graduation day at university a decade ago, the thought of a party or a late night out with her friends was out of the question. She celebrated quietly at home.

But on a cool Wednesday night in March, the 30-year-old travel agency employee was lounging at Piano, an upscale west Baghdad restaurant, with about a dozen relatives, enjoying dinner and cake for an uncle’s birthday. It was 10 p.m. Even her 7-year-old nephew had joined the festivities.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I hope this trend continues.

Will The Violence In Baghdad Continue?

On Thursday evening, the end of the Iraqi workweek, the Karada neighborhood was a destination for smokers. Shiho Fukada for The New York Times

Savoring Baghdad, Where Each Night Is A Battle -- New York Times

BAGHDAD — Who owns the Iraqi night?

As Iraq’s violence ebbed, it seemed that the country’s tea-sipping, hookah-smoking revelers had reclaimed the evening hours, casting off the siege mentality of the war’s worst days as they repopulated nightclubs, speakeasies and public parks.

Then came a recent barrage of attacks that clawed apart scenes of Iraq’s reawakened nightlife. Insurgents blew up restaurants and cafes, public squares and shopping stalls, in what felt to many Iraqis like a deliberate attempt to drive them back behind their front gates after the sun sets.

Read more ....

My Comment: Baghdad reminds me of Beirut, and the siege mentality that struck that city after many years of civil war. Will Baghdad follow the same route .... it appears to be the case. It is deeply divided along sectarian lines, and there is little if any political compromise between the two main religious factions (Sunni-Shiite).As long as this continues .... expect the violence to continue.