Al Rasheed Street
Modern Baghdad is associated with the birth of this street , which stretches east along the Tigris River in a north-south axis that formerly terminated in the two old gates of the city walls with Bab Al Muadham in north and Bab Al Sharqi in the south . For us , Al Rasheed Street means exploring history and architecture from Al Jumhuriya Bridge to Al Midan Square of the last 100 years . As Najem Wali in his novel ‹ Baghdad-Memories of a cosmopolitan city › said : « You did not visit Baghdad , if you have not visit Al Rasheed Street .»
Beginning of last century Baghdad was part of the Ottoman Empire which entered World War I on the side of the Central Powers . The Ottomans achieved initial victories against British forces in the first two years of the Mesopotamian campaign , such as the Siege of Kut . In 1916 , Ottoman Khalil Pasha , who was the military governor of Baghdad from 1915 to 1917 , ordered to build a military road to honour his victory of Kut against the British-Indian garrison in April 1916 and the first
straight , modern avenue in Baghdad › s old city was born .
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