ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - As elections approach and the weather cools down, the streets of Baghdad have come alive with shoppers embracing the return of security in the capital’s commercial hub that was once subject to regular attacks.
 
Baghdad’s Shiite-majority Karrada district is buzzing with grocery, clothing and furniture stores, but it particularly shines in vibrant yellow as gold merchants keep their shops open night-long, welcoming mostly women customers.
 
“Security is good now. There are security checkpoints. Security cars always drive around. That’s why we’re not scared and trust them,” said Wissam Ali, a gold shop owner.
 
A customer at the store added, “I am not scared, and I am also carrying money.” Ali cut her short, “Baghdad is not the way it’s talked about in the media, especially western media - security is good now.”
 
Jewelry stores are open from eastern neighborhood of Zayouna to the western Mansour district. However, their doors are not for customers to open. Most stores lock from the inside and can only be opened with a remote control by their owner.
 
Asked whether it is because of the security situation, Ali said, “We are not scared, if we were scared, we would not have been here. All the other shops do that, this is a normal thing and it is to protect ourselves.” 
 
Karrada, a commercial hub on the east bank of the Tigris River, once had a reputation as one of Baghdad's most diverse neighbourhoods. It historically boasted large Sunni Muslim, Christian, Jewish communities and has a large number of churches.
 
Karrada had been the target of regular attacks since the US-led invasion in 2003. The district saw its deadliest explosion in July 2016, which killed about 300 people and wounded about 200 others. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State (ISIS).
 
“This explosion completely destroyed this area, a lot of people died, it paralyzed the market for all shop owners, and it took a long time for us to stand on our feet again,” Ali said.

Photos by Bilind T. Abdullah