The Bookish in Baghdad have something to celebrate this week as Mutanabi Street, the cities cultural center, has been reopened to the public after a car bomb exploded in 2007.
Each step of that resurrection comes with added risks. In September 2007, a curfew was lifted allowing foot traffic to enter the book market. Would a suicide bomber walk back into the cafes? In September 2008, blast walls blocking off the street were taken down. Would a car bomb detonate outside the newly repaved walkway? With each step, more and more shoppers returned to the market. And finally, on Thursday, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Malaki officially reopened the street.
