Twenty years after the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, images of the dictator are rarely seen across modern Baghdad. During his rule, Saddam cultivated a brutal personality cult that saturated the capital with statues, portraits, and reminders of himself as a soldier, a civilian, and a patriarchal figure for Iraqis. The cult reached everywhere, from shop walls to wristwatches bearing his likeness. Before the occupation, a Baghdad museum celebrated his life, displaying weapons, personal mementos such as an early Ba’ath party card, and numerous photographs tracing his life from school days to moments with world leaders inside the interiors of his grand palaces. Today, after wandering Baghdad for several days, the narrator recalls Saddam only once, in a second-hand bookstore near Al-Mutanabi Street, on the cover of the Arabic edition of John Nixon’s book Information from the President: The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein, published years earlier, and in a photograph from the time of Saddam’s capture in Tikrit.
Some young women walk through the old bazaar in Baghdad.
For instance, there is no Saddam portrait in Shahbandar cafe. The walls of many classic intellectual cafes along Al Rasheed Street and nearby lanes still carry the aura of Baghdad’s cultural soul, with photographs of Ottoman-era politicians and older Iraqi rulers. Saddam has no place in these circles, nor in what remains of the Arab world’s most influential intellectual strata. In some Sunni neighborhoods, memories surface with the oft-repeated phrase after long dictatorships: “Life was better with Saddam,” but such voices are a minority today.
water pipes and tea
Shabandar is not a cafe peddling nostalgia. Its worn leather, aged wooden furnishings, and teapots aging to a dark patina create a deceptive sense of timeless elegance. In truth, it was rebuilt to resemble the original cafe that opened in 1917 after the March 2007 car bombing on Al Mutanabi Street, which claimed twenty lives, including four children and the owner’s grandchild. Today the venue operates as Café de los Mártires Shabandar.
A Baghdad bazaar.
Two decades of upheaval linger in Baghdad: the occupation, the insurgency, civil conflicts, the rise of the Islamic State, and the ongoing campaign against the caliphate. In neighborhoods like Adamiya, concrete walls still stand to separate communities and curb sectarian violence. After the invasion, the Green Zone, Saddam’s former presidential palace complex, became the center of the occupation and the early institutions of postwar Iraq. It has recently reopened to the city, though access remains tightly controlled by elite counter-terrorism units trained by Western partners and hardened by the fight against the Islamic State. Access to mixed neighborhoods still requires security checks by police and army personnel. Ministries and institutions such as the Central Bank, universities, hospitals, embassies, party centers, foreign cultural institutes, and hotels remain under heavy security. Entrances to modern shopping centers opened by foreign investment or new Iraqi wealth also feature metal detectors and checkpoints, echoing the security culture of the region.
Baghdadis on Al Rasheed Street.
The same security reality meets visitors at a former palace now converted into a shopping center along the banks of the Tigris, offering a bowling alley, restaurants, and shops, all wrapped in a distinctive Arabian kitsch. Women in headscarves and veils stroll the mall while children gather before toy shops guarded by life-size figures of Marvel heroes, such as the Hulk and Captain America. Today, it is easier to find pictures of Captain America in Baghdad than portraits of Saddam Hussein.
Messi portraits
Billboards featuring the Argentine footballer who won the World Cup dominate many façades in the capital. Credit card promotions remain common in a city where many transactions still occur in cash and exchange rates swing with the dinar. Across Baghdad, from press rooms to the few surviving shops selling souvenirs, people note that the dollar’s value has surged. The city has undergone a reverse trend of gentification: once rich in traditional crafts, markets now lean toward modern goods like clothing and electronics. Tourism stays low due to years of violence, yet life continues with resilience in the face of ongoing security concerns.
Cable network connected to electricity generators in Baghdad.
Power shortages mean gas-powered generators are widespread, adding a distinctive hum to the city’s ambiance. Even amid heavy traffic, bridges over the Tigris and Euphrates reveal shifts in water flow caused by drought and climate change, adding another layer to Baghdad’s long history of conflict and endurance.
Two decades on, Baghdad still bears the marks of war and reconstruction. The city keeps adapting, blending modern commerce with a stubborn resilience that preserves its cultural heartbeat amid a turbulent regional landscape.