mini picture tour time (click on small pix to see larger):
[click me to see photo]
this building was hit by a number of "precision bombs" during the Gulf War. This is now our main link to the internet world. The picture is face on if you could see the side you would notice that a couple of the floors are built with slightly different color of brick, these are the floors that were hit. The Sinek building was built in the late sixties, designed by Rifa'at al-Chaderji, he lives in the States now.
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[click me to see photo]
Another building by al-chadirji, this is one of my favorites. It houses the Union of Industries. this is the entrance to one of Baghdad's main commercial streets. Along this street you can still see the closed offices of all major airlines. Now only one is open (not in this street) the Gulf Falcon is the only airline flying from Baghdad to Damascus and Beirut two times a week.
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[click me to see photo]
View of al-Sinek bridge, this was also hit during GW I. Getting across the river was a major problem during the first year after the war. An old Baghdadi tradition was resurrected. The floating bridge. There is a children's song about a bridge that would run away with every flood and kids running after it asking it to come back, this was during the 20's before the British built the first bridge (maud bridge after general maud who led the British invasion of Iraq, now it is called the bridge of martyrs. maybe tommy franks will get his bridge as well, who knows.). The photo is taken from a balcony in the old Melia hotel (now al-mansur), actually all of them are.
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[click me to see photo]
everybody should recognize this mosque, it is the background to all broadcasts from Iraq. This is the mosque facing the Ministry of Information, all stations have their tents facing this mosque, you see it from another angle of course. the big silhouette that looks like a ziggurat in the background used to be the ministry of foreign affairs, now it is part of the palace complex, a beautiful building, at sunset with the right light it looks like something fit for [Blade Runner]. Luckily it was not hit during GW I, hopefully it gets thru this time as well. If you look close to the right of it (in the red box) is saddam special tower, it was built with amazing speed. Also part of the palace complex.
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[click me to see photo]
this is the approach to the Sinek bridge, on the left is the Ministry of Planning, Architect: Gio Ponti. This was a time when a very sharp city council was commissioning major international architects to do all sorts of projects in Baghdad. We have one of Cobusier's last built projects, the [Saddam indoor sports hall] was finished after the death of Le Corbusier. Walter Gropius designed the University of Baghdad and Mies van der Rohe its mosque. And there is an unbuilt project by Frank Lloyd Wright for an Opera House in Baghdad (it's a tiny picture, couldn't find a bigger one of that sketch). pre-tty cool,eh? now we can't even get world class IRAQI architects to work here.
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