User:Ayham4002/sandbox
Submission for a rewrite of the al-Rashid Street article.
Name[edit]
The street names were changed several times such as "Hindenburg Street" which was a name used by the British and then later "al-Nasr Street". It was until the name settled on its current name in 1936, which was launched by the Iraqi linguist and historian Mustafa Jawad after Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid.[1][2] The name "Al-Rashid" (Arabic: الرشيد) was a honorific title given to the Abbasid Caliph which meant "followers of the right path."[3]
Historical background[edit]
Early establishment[edit]
The street's origin dates back to the late Ottoman Empire period. Between 1915 and 1917, the demolition of allegedly 700 houses took place to pave the way for the road. The demolishing was carried out by a group of German military engineers, Germany being the main ally of the Ottomans during World War I, and was named "Halil Pasha Street"[4] after Ottoman army general Halil Kut who was governor of Baghdad at the time.[5] The avenue was opened in 1914 by the Ottoman administration as a modern avenue for transportation and to expand trade. Due to the fact that the narrow road networks that were common in Iraq at the time didn't suit carriages or transportation, the street was wider with sidewalks that included arcades that acted as shading for pedestrians. The street would later be expanded along the older parts of Baghdad and was always kept parallel to the Tigris River.[6]
The road was originally paved to coumarate the Siege of Kut.[7] However, the street's gull construction was completed once the British Empire took over Iraq and was wide enough for vehicles to pass through. The street became shaded by hanging balconies which were held by arcades.[8] During the British colonialist rule of Iraq, the Haydar-Khana Mosque, a mosque located on the street, started to become one of the brewing aspects of the Iraqi Revolt due to how frequent the notables and personalities of the city gathered in opposition to the British. British troops reportedly stormed the mosque in an attempt to arrest the revolutionaries. Even after the independence of the Kingdom of Iraq, the area stayed as a hot spot for revolutionary gatherings.[9]
Flourishing during the Kingdom of Iraq[edit]
Al-Rashid Street became home to many political and cultural events and establishments. As well as Baghdad's most famous coffeehouses, restaurants, and markets. Coffeehouses such as ones themed after Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum and the al-Zahawi Café. This caused artists, students, and intellectuals to visit the avenue commonly.[10] Due to this, al-Rashid Street became a the main street for the coffeehouse culture of Baghdad, alongside Abu Nuwas Street.[11] Throughout the decades, literary coffeehouses started to be established and were inhabited by all generations. Some coffeehouses started to be associated with the big three Neo-Classical Iraqi poets al-Zahawi, al-Rusafi, and al-Jawahiri, who met with several younger poets in the cultural coffeehouses.[12]
Examples of prominent coffeehouses were the Arif Agha Café, which was inhabited by al-Rusafi, al-Zahawi Café, which was famous for its literary battles between al-Zahawi and al-Rusafi, and Hassan 'Ajami Café, which was inhabited by al-Jawahiri[13] and was also his favorite. The Hassan 'Ajami Café was also located next to the Shamash School for Iraqi Jews,[14] as well as the Hajj Zabala Shop for Raisins Juice.[citation needed] Other coffeehouses that were on the street were the Parliament Café, which al-Jawahiri also visited frequently, and the Brazilian Café which was the home to the modern Iraqi literary movement,[12] and was where Iraqi painter Jawad Saleem claimed he learnt the use of color from.[11] The coffeehouses also saw political activities such as gatherings in protest against the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1948, which were held in the Hassan 'Ajami Café.[12]
References[edit]
- ^ Jawad, Qahtan Jassim (2021). "On the anniversary of its founding... Al-Rashid Street, an icon of Baghdad, whose theaters hosted Umm Kulthum, al-Rihani, and Nazim al-Ghazali". www.aljazeera.net (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-06-10.
- ^ "ما سر الرقم 4 في شارع الرشيد وسط بغداد ؟". www.mawazin.net. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
- ^ Viorst 1995, p. 8.
- ^ Saliba 2016, p. 201.
- ^ "Al-Rashid Street: Stories and anecdotes, a tour of the street in its early years". Al-Gardeniyya: Public Cultural Magazine. 2015.
- ^ Elsheshtawy 2010, p. 65.
- ^ The Illustrated War News. 1917.
- ^ Viorst 1995, p. 7.
- ^ Tauber 1995, pp. 296–297.
- ^ Hann 2015, p. 126.
- ^ a b Caiani 2013, p. 43.
- ^ a b c Caiani 2013, p. 42.
- ^ Caiani 2013, p. 44.
- ^ Caiani 2013, pp. 42–43.
Works cited[edit]
- Saliba, Robert (2016). Urban Design in the Arab World: Reconceptualizing Boundaries. Routledge, London. ISBN 9781315548869.
- Viorst, Milton (1995). Sandcastles: The Arabs in Search of the Modern World. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 0815603622.
- Elsheshtawy, Yasser (2010). Planning Middle Eastern Cities: An Urban Kaleidoscope. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN 9780415553094.
- Tauber, Eliezer (1995). The Formation of Modern Iraq and Syria (1st ed.). Routledge, London. ISBN 9781135201180.
- Hann, Geoff (2015). Iraq: The ancient sites and Iraqi Kurdistan. Globe Pequot Press, Guilford. ISBN 9781841624884.
- Caiani, Fabio (23 August 2013). The Iraqi Novel: Key Writers, Key Texts (Edinburgh Studies in Modern Arabic Literature) (1st ed.). Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0748641416.