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Quick Facts Native name, Part of ...

Haifa Street

Native name	Arabic: شارع حيفا
Part of	al-Karkh
Location	Baghdad, Iraq
Other
Designer	Mo'ath al-Alusi
Known for	Statue of King Faisal I High-Rise apartments Sheikh Sandal Mosque Various government offices
Status	Active

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Haifa Street (Arabic: شارع حيفا) is a two-mile-long street in Baghdad, Iraq, named after the port city of Haifa.^[1] It runs parallel to the Tigris and, along with Yafa Street (named after the port city of Jaffa), it leads to the Assassin's Gate, an archway that served as the main entrance to the American-run Green Zone during the 2003 invasion of Iraq,^[1][2] as well as al-Shawy Mosque.^{[citation needed]} The street was given its current name by Saddam Hussein in the 1980s as part of a redevelopment program, and is lined with many high-rise buildings.^[1]

Haifa Street contains the Haifa residential complex on al-Karkh which includes eight complex parts. The complex is made of high separated residential masses with some floors being up to 15 floors. The apartments can be high-rise buildings with more than ten floors. The lower-rise buildings contain some floors are only two to ten floors. These are surrounded by open spaces which include parking lots, spaces for activities and other public services. The buildings were also designed to be more personally and socially connected; they're noted for their unique private urban identity. The street's sidewalks contains many columns designed so that cars won't park on the sidewalks. It also contains shades for traffic police and terraces for pedestrian sitting. The street also contains the Sheikh Sandal Mosque which is located in front of nine of the buildings on the street.^[3] The mosque is one of the oldest buildings in the street which dates back to the Ottoman period. It originally contained a dome that rested on four columns but after it was rebuilt, the dome no longer existed. The mosque is also located around a courtyard and a minaret that is decorated with Karbalai tapestry.^[4]

Prior to the 1990–91 Gulf War, the British Embassy in Iraq was located on Haifa Street.^{[citation needed]}

The area that would become Haifa Street contained the old Sheikh Sandal Mosque which was a part of al-Karkh and used to house festivals, feasts, and all Islamic prayers. The mosque played a large role in fueling enthusiasm in the Iraqi Revolt against British colonialism. It fostered the chastity of a number of Baghdad's poets.^[4]

The later modern buildings on Haifa Street were designed by Mo'ath al-Alusi who mentioned in his book "Nostos. The Story Of A Street In Baghdad" his attempts at not violating the traditional urban fabric of al-Karkh, the western part of Baghdad, due to the high buildings the street contains. According to Mo'ath, much of old Karkh was removed in the 1950s and as such the urban fabric of al-Karkh. Mo'ath's efforts triggered a debate on the relationship between old and modern architecture and what it could have been. According to al-Alusi the project was also flawed in that it didn't contain open public spaces which he described as an imbalance to the population living in the street. Due to this, officials inserted designs for parks around the street. Furthermore, columns were added to not make cars park on the sidewalks.^[3] In his book, al-Alusi described the high-rise buildings on the streets as he says:

"The fifteen-floor buildings will seem like bizarre pilings in Baghdad's sky; nine of which are in front of Sheikh Sandal's mosque, near the districts of "al-Falahat" and "al-Fahama". It is considered an unusual urban fabric compared to its surroundings."^[3]

Due to this, Haifa Street became a symbol of modernization's cuts with the past and traditions as many old al-Karkh buildings were demolished in favor of the street and its project.^[3]