The Tigris River has run through the centre of Baghdad since the city was founded in 762 CE by the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mansur, and the riverfront remains one of the city's most pleasant public spaces. The long promenade on the western bank is lined with parks, gardens, and open-air cafes, and on a Thursday or Friday evening it fills with families, young couples, and fishermen.
The views across the Tigris to the eastern bank capture something of the city's historical geography — this is approximately where the famous Round City of the Abbasids once stood, the circular walled capital that medieval travellers described as the most magnificent city in the world. Almost nothing of that city survives above ground, but the river it was built beside is unchanged.