The Streets of Baghdad (بغداد‎)

More driving in iraq. aghdad (Arabic: بغداد‎ Baġdād) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate. With a metropolitan area estimated at a population of 7,000,000, it is the largest city in Iraq.[1][2] It is the second-largest city in the Arab World (after Cairo) and the second-largest city in southwest Asia (after Tehran).
Located on the Tigris River, the city dates back to at least the 8th century, and probably to pre-Islamic times. Once the center of Dar al-salam, the Muslim world, Baghdad has been a center of violent conflict since 2003 because of the ongoing Iraq War. Baghdad is a city within Iraq that is near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. In 764 CE, the caliph Abu Ja'far Al-Mansur founded the city [6]. Mansur believed that Baghdad was the perfect city to be the capital of the Islamic empire under the Abbasids. Mansur loved the site so much he is quoted saying, "This is indeed the city that I am to found, where I am to live, and where my descendants will reign afterward". [7] This transformation of Baghdad to the capital city contained all necessary conditions for the security and development of a political and economic capital, mostly because the location gave it control over strategic and commercial routes. Also, it was a trade route for the Khurasans where caravans met and traded. Also, one of its' first accomplishments was to pave their streets with a tar substance, in the year 800 CE. Monthly fairs for trading were also held in this area. Another reason why Baghdad provided an excellent location was due to the abundance of water and its healthy climate. Water exists on both north and south ends of the city gates, allowing all households to have a plentiful supply, which was very uncommon during this time. Baghdad came into its prime about 800CE during the reign of the caliph Harun al-Rashid. Baghdad was bombed very heavily in March and April 2003 in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and fell under US control by April 7-April 9. Additional damage was caused by the severe looting during the days following the end of the war. With the deposition of Saddam Hussein's regime, the city was occupied by U.S. troops. The Coalition Provisional Authority established a three-square-mile (8 km²) "Green Zone" within the heart of the city from which it governed Iraq during the period before the new Iraqi government was established. The Coalition Provisional Authority ceded power to the interim government at the end of June 2004 and thereafter dissolved itself. Most Iraqi reconstruction efforts have been devoted to the restoration and repair of badly damaged urban infrastructure. More visible efforts at reconstruction through private development, like architect and urban designer Hisham N. Ashkouri's Baghdad Renaissance Plan and Sindbad Hotel Complex and Conference Center, garnered early interest but remain undeveloped due to the instability of the region