User:Ayham4002/sandbox

Submission for a rewrite of the al-Rashid Street article.

Name
The street names were changed several times such as "Hindenburg Street" which was a name used by the British and then later "al-Nasr Street". It was until the name settled on its current name in 1936, which was launched by the Iraqi linguist and historian Mustafa Jawad after Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid. The name "Al-Rashid" (الرشيد) was a honorific title given to the Abbasid Caliph which meant "followers of the right path."

Early establishment
Before the establishment of the street, the areas around the current street held several significant positions. These include localities in which Christians lived in, especially near the St. Joseph Latin Cathedral which was built in 1866 located near the current street, silversmith shops that the Baghdadi Sabian-Mandaeans community operated, the shrine of Ibn Ruh al-Nawbakhti, the souks of al-Shorja, the ancient Sayyid Sultan Ali Mosque, several Abbasid Era commercial centers, the Khan Murjan for merchants, the ancient Murjan Mosque, and the Haydar-Khana Mosque. One of the localities, the Sababikh al-A'al locality, was also the home of several foreign missionaries such as the first French consul to Baghdad, followed by the American consul, and the directors of several British companies.

The street's origin dates back to the late Ottoman Empire period. Between 1915 and 1917, the demolition of allegedly 700 houses took place to pave the way for the road. The demolishing was carried out by a group of German military engineers, Germany being the main ally of the Ottomans during World War I, and was named "Halil Pasha Street" after Ottoman army general Halil Kut who was governor of Baghdad at the time. The avenue was opened in 1914 by the Ottoman administration as a modern avenue for transportation and to expand trade. Due to the fact that the narrow road networks that were common in Iraq at the time didn't suit carriages or transportation, the street was wider with sidewalks that included arcades that acted as shading for pedestrians. The street would later be expanded along the older parts of Baghdad and was always kept parallel to the Tigris River.

The road was originally paved to coumarate the Siege of Kut. However, the street's gull construction was completed once the British Empire took over Iraq and was wide enough for vehicles to pass through. The street became shaded by hanging balconies which were held by arcades. During the British colonialist rule of Iraq, the Haydar-Khana Mosque, a mosque located on the street, started to become one of the brewing aspects of the Iraqi Revolt due to how frequent the notables and personalities of the city gathered in opposition to the British. British troops reportedly stormed the mosque in an attempt to arrest the revolutionaries. Even after the independence of the Kingdom of Iraq, the area stayed as a hot spot for revolutionary gatherings.

Flourishing during the Kingdom of Iraq
Al-Rashid Street became home to many political and cultural events and establishments. As well as Baghdad's most famous coffeehouses, restaurants, and markets. Coffeehouses such as ones themed after Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum and the al-Zahawi Café. This caused artists, students, and intellectuals to visit the avenue commonly. Due to this, al-Rashid Street became a the main street for the coffeehouse culture of Baghdad, alongside Abu Nuwas Street. Throughout the decades, literary coffeehouses started to be established and were inhabited by all generations. Some coffeehouses started to be associated with the big three Neo-Classical Iraqi poets al-Zahawi, al-Rusafi, and al-Jawahiri, who met with several younger poets in the cultural coffeehouses. Al-Rashid Street was also connected to al-Mutanabbi Street which played a role in exposing readers to old and new Arabic knowledge alongside translated global knowledge. Many newly established printers were established in that street.

Examples of prominent coffeehouses were the Arif Agha Café, which was inhabited by al-Rusafi, al-Zahawi Café, which was famous for its literary battles between al-Zahawi and al-Rusafi, and Hassan 'Ajami Café, which was inhabited by al-Jawahiri and was also his favorite. The Hassan 'Ajami Café was also located next to the Shamash School for Iraqi Jews, as well as the Hajj Zabala Shop for Raisins Juice. Other coffeehouses that were on the street were the Parliament Café, which al-Jawahiri also visited frequently, and the Brazilian Café which was the home to the modern Iraqi literary movement, and was where Iraqi painter Jawad Saleem claimed he learnt the use of color from. The coffeehouses also saw political activities such as gatherings in protest against the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1948, which were held in the Hassan 'Ajami Café.

Around the 1930s, many cinemas and theaters such as al-Rashid Cinema, al-Zawra'a Cinema, and Roxy Cinema started to be established in all-Rashid Street. The cinemas were divided between summer and winter theaters and showed Flash Gordon, Fox Film, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films. Cinemas played a major role in Iraqi society, and Baghdadi cinemas used to distribute weekly advertisements for movies in Arabic and English. At the time, going to cinemas was a weekly event for the working and the middle class. Thursday became the traditional day of the week when Baghdadi families went to theatres and acted as a break day for students. Around the mid-1950s, many of the cinemas in Bab al-Sharqi area started to be demolished.

During the 1950s, the street saw a flourishing in commercial and financial centers which also spread to nearby street called "Al-Samu'al Street" that became known for its financial pulse and role in the Baghdadi stock exchange at the time. This area of the street contained the main al-Rafidain Bank headquarters, as well as other private commercial banks. Before 1948, many of the workers in these financial institutions were Iraqi Jews, Indians, and British people. Iraqi businessmen met in coffeehouses on al-Samu'al Street with sellers in order to complete sales and discuss purchasing bargains.

During the Republic of Iraq
During the 14 July Revolution, the 1958 military coup that overthrew the Iraqi Monarchy, the Crown Prince Abd al-Ilah's dead corpse was dragged along the street and then cut to pieces. That day, the street was full of demonstrations and marches. During the afternoon of that same day, many bodies were dragged into the street including the body of a Jordanian delegation from the Hashemite Federal Parliament who happened to be on a visit to Iraq was dragged through the area with a stick being shoved into his bottom while the crowded shouted for the capture of Muhammad Fadhel al-Jamali, the former-Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs. Iraq and Jordan were united into the Arab Federation at the time.