BAGHDAD MADENAT AL-SALAM

About the Book

Baghdad is a journey through time and space, a portrait of a city whose urban form has risen and crumbled, flourished and faltered, yet never ceased to breathe. Through the dual lens of a native son and the mind of an engineer, this book traces the architecture of memory and the foundations of resilience that define the capital of Iraq.
Structured across six chapters, the book unfolds the story of Baghdad’s evolution—from its visionary foundation under the Abbasid Caliphs to its reshaping under the hands of conquerors, reformers, and modern planners. It follows the city’s shifting contours, its iconic bridges and domes, its walls and markets, and the lives of those who built, governed, and dwelled within its boundaries.
Baghdad is more than a city. It is a canvas where power and poetry, empire and ruin, diversity and endurance have all left their marks. Its monuments whisper histories, its neighborhoods echo with cultural plurality, and its every corner holds the weight of centuries.
This work seeks not only to recount events but to read the city as a living text—layered with struggle and splendor. In doing so, it offers insight into how cities survive, how they are wounded, and how they are imagined anew.
To understand Baghdad’s present and envision its future, we must first walk through its past—not as distant observers, but as those who recognize its soul. This book is both a personal tribute and a professional reflection, merging heritage and expertise to illuminate a city that has refused to vanish, even when the world turned its back.

About the Author

Dr. Alaa Al Tamimi, engineer, urban planner, and former Mayor of Baghdad, draws on decades of experience at the intersection of governance, memory, and urban transformation. In this insightful book, he chronicles the city’s evolution from its founding in the 8th century through the golden Abbasid era to the turmoil of the 21^st century.

Blending historical depth with personal reflection, Al-Tamimi explores Baghdad’s trials and transformations—including his own brief but intense experience as Mayor after the 2003 occupation. At the heart of the narrative lies a hope for renewal: that Baghdad might one day reclaim its essence as Dar al-Salam—the Abode of Peace.

Unlike many English-language works written by outsiders, this book offers a rare perspective from within: a native son of Baghdad, offering a deeply personal, historically grounded, and future-oriented vision for a city that still pulses with life despite its wounds.