(18 Mar 2022) LEAD IN:
The landmark al-Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad has undergone a major renovation for the first time since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
But the expensive facelift of the historic street has drawn some criticism from shop owners working there.
STORY-LINE:
On a stretch of Iraq's landmark street of al-Mutanabbi, shoppers stroll along a cobblestone pavement, enjoying a new lighting system, benches and freshly-painted shops.
Historic, dilapidated buildings, some of them dating back to the Ottoman era, have been painted over with yellow and white colors that have drowned the original limestone bricks.
But some shop owners on the street criticized the work, saying it ruined the street instead of fixing it.
"The renovations, which might appear like great work to some people, were in fact some paint jobs and some unneeded changes to the pavement," said Ameer Al-Dulymi, one of the shop owners.
Baghdad's al-Mutanabbi Street, the literary heart of the capital and once the bustling center of the city's historic book trade, has undergone an expensive facelift for the first time since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Named for the 10th century poet Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi, the street suffered neglect and bombings during the war, including a powerful suicide bombing in 2007 that killed around 20 people.
With a donation from the Central Bank of Iraq and the Iraqi private banks league, renovating the oldest street began last summer.
The new look was inaugurated in December with a display of fireworks.
Now, many more people frequent the Baghdad landmark, and the new facelift helped it to attract more visitors especially at night.
The renovation includes illuminations of the Qushla clock built-in 1881.
But shop owners and residents complain that the work was done haphazardly, without any regard to Baghdad's cultural heritage.
Al-Dulymi, the shop owner, said rent prices have risen sharply as a result as well, without any assistance.
He also said that almost all the sub-streets leading to al-Mutanabbi have been closed.
Omer Monther, administrative manager of Diamond Loft which supervised the renovation, rejects the accusations.
The works, he said, "included changing the floor and sidewalks in full, changing the store and building fronts while preserving their history and their old shape as well as organizing or unifying all the signposts of the shops."
He said every country has a historic street that brings together the people and its visitors, and Baghdad should too.
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