Abu Nawas Street runs along the east bank of the Tigris and carries more cultural weight than its simple shape suggests. Named for the Abbasid poet Abu Nuwas, it was once one of Baghdad's showpiece promenades, associated with riverside cafés, restaurants, and evening walks.
The street has had hard decades, like the city around it, but its riverfront role still matters. For travellers able to move around Baghdad safely and with local advice, it gives a glimpse of the capital as a social city, not only a place of monuments, checkpoints, and headlines.