Government
10 Years After the Iraq War, How Has Baghdad Changed?
The city is bustling, with parks and nightclubs, but deep scars remain.
David Blair, a reporter for the Telegraph, remembers Baghdad in 2002 as a "capital stuck in a time warp." "Mobile phones and satellite television were banned and hardly anyone used the internet," he writes. "Today, by contrast, Iraq has embraced the world of universal mobile phones and hundreds of satellite channels."
In the last five years, the city has also embraced a vibrant street and cultural life. Parks and sidewalks are crowded again, and restaurants are busy. Shopping malls are being built, as are private amusement parks that rival the city's most famous, Zawara.