In a country whose economy is based on oil as the state’s almost sole resource, the idea of a living and active “cultural economy” in the heart of Baghdad seems like a paradox that no one pays attention to.
Between the old alleys extending from Al-Rashid Street to the banks of the Tigris, Al-Mutanabbi Street operates every week as a complete economic cell that is not included in the GDP calculations, even though it stimulates hundreds of professions and creates daily income for dozens of families.
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Here, not only books are sold. Al-Mutanabbi is like a small city operating within a larger city. Movement begins in the early morning hours, with the opening of libraries and used bookstores, then gradually expands to include cultural cafés, publishing houses, printing presses, calligraphers, painters, photographers, and sellers of antiques and traditional crafts, all the way to restaurants, taxi drivers, and street vendors.
Although this activity moves almost outside the formal economy, it represents an example of what specialists call the “invisible cultural economy,” an economy that depends more on knowledge, heritage, and identity than on traditional capital.
Restless street
On a Friday morning, Al-Mutanabbi begins receiving visitors shortly before noon.
The voices of vendors mix with the smell of old paper and coffee, while queues of books extend along the sidewalks in a way that suggests that the entire street has turned into an open gallery.
Abu Ali, the owner of one of the old bookstores on the street, says that what is happening inside Al-Mutanabbi is “much greater than what the official institutions imagine,” indicating that the street does not only sell books, but rather runs a complete economic cycle on which dozens of families and culture-related professions live.
He added during his talk to Al Jazeera that many people view Al-Mutanabbi as a heritage or cultural place only, adding: “But the truth is that here is an integrated daily economy that begins with the used book seller, and passes through publishing and printing houses, cafes, calligraphers, painters, and even street vendors.”
He points out that some libraries rely on specific cultural seasons during which they achieve large sales, while cultural cafes constitute a space that attracts visitors from various governorates, which is reflected in the transportation sectors, restaurants, and nearby markets.
This activity, according to bookstore owners, is not subject to accurate statistics, but it creates continuous financial movement, especially during weekends, cultural seasons, and book fairs.
An economy that the state does not see
For his part, the head of the Tourist Syndicate in Iraq, Dr. Muhammad Odeh Al-Obaidi, believes that what is happening in Al-Mutanabbi and the old city goes beyond the traditional cultural dimension, stressing that Baghdad has real potential to build a sustainable cultural and tourism economy.
Al-Obaidi told Al-Jazeera Net: “One of the most important issues raised today in the world is cultural and heritage tourism, especially in the city of Baghdad, this ancient city that has been exhausted by political and economic transformations, but it still maintains its civilizational potential.”
Al-Mutanabbi Street is not just a book market, but a living memory of Iraq that can be transformed into a real resource if it is properly invested within an integrated civilizational vision.
He adds that Al-Mutanabbi Street is not just a book market, but rather a living memory of Iraq with all its values, customs and traditions, indicating that the cultural economy can turn into a real resource if it is properly invested within an integrated cultural and tourism vision.
According to Al-Obaidi, every cultural activity within Al-Mutanabbi creates a wide series of interconnected economic activities. It extends to transportation, hotels, restaurants and creative industries. He stresses that the main problem does not lie in the lack of resources, but rather in “the absence of cultural and tourism planning capable of linking heritage and development.”
Who actually wins?
Within this undeclared economy, profits appear to be distributed in a complex way. The owner of the bookstore sells books, but the cafés benefit from visitors, and the printing presses are moving to print new publications, while the professions of binding, Arabic calligraphy, and making traditional gifts are flourishing. Even street vendors find Fridays an opportunity to generate weekly income that they may not have elsewhere.
Hussein Ali, a printing worker on Al-Mutanabbi Street, reveals that the seasons of publishing books or holding exhibitions “move the entire market,” explaining that the demand is not limited to printing only, but also includes design, packaging, transportation, and distribution. But this economy remains fragile, because it is based on individual initiatives and is not supported by government plans or organized investment projects.
Paper facing the screen
Heritage researcher Yasser Al-Obaidi links the history of Al-Mutanabbi to the history of “Al-Waraqin Street,” which represented a center for books and knowledge since the Ottoman era, noting that the street was linked to the professions of binding, stationery, and printing for many decades.
He told Al Jazeera Net that “the book in the past represented great value, and anyone who wanted to gain knowledge would go to this street,” but he points out that digital transformations and social media have changed the nature of the relationship with reading. Al-Obaidi points out that part of Al-Mutanabbi’s cultural identity began to decline in favor of the commercial and entertainment character, saying that “the commercial aspects of restaurants and songs began to overpower the cultural spirit of the place.”
Despite this, the street still maintains its symbolic appeal, as one of the last open spaces for culture in Baghdad.
From marginal economy to tourism lever
In many cities around the world, old cultural neighborhoods have turned into major sources of income through tourism and creative industries, but Baghdad still deals with Al-Mutanabbi as a symbolic space more than an economic resource.
The Baghdad Pulse initiative was not just an aesthetic rehabilitation, but rather contributed to revitalizing a silent local economy that relies on culture, tourism, and small crafts.
Economist Haitham Al-Lami believes that the urban renaissance witnessed by Al-Mutanabbi Street and the Old City within the “Pulse of Baghdad” initiative was not merely an aesthetic rehabilitation, but rather contributed to revitalizing a silent local economy that relies on culture, tourism, and small crafts.
Al-Lami told Al-Jazeera Net that the revival of heritage facades and the development of sidewalks restored momentum to the region and increased visitor traffic, which had a direct impact on the owners of bookstores, cafes, and craftsmen, indicating that this space has become a model of a cultural economy capable of creating job opportunities and moving markets away from traditional dependence on oil.
He concludes his speech by emphasizing that the old city has great potential to transform into an organized tourist and cultural center, if it is invested within a clear economic vision that preserves the heritage identity and supports activities related to it.
