Baghdad: A city in waiting

Baghdad: A city in waiting

We hit the road just after noon today to get a sense of the mood of the city on the last day before Iraq's national elections.

What we found was a city waiting for tomorrow.

Baghdad's security has, obviously, been tight since the day we landed, and today was no different.

We drove for 15-20 minutes before getting to Karada street - normally a bustling market area. Traffic was anything but snarled,many of the shops were closed, and few pedestrians were out and about.

A shop selling power generators had its wares well organised and on display. The man pictured above was hawking gas canisters.

I'm told Baghdad's water supply is fairly reliable and clean (not so in other parts of the country), but electricity continues to be an issue, and those who can afford it rely on private means, rather than those provided by the state.

Climbing ouf the car just off the main Karada street, children playing, or picking through paper waste. Evidentally not a well-off spot, but literally a block down, we could see gleaming houses.

The boys jostled to get their pictures taken, the girls hanging back a little shyly.

One little boy actually started crying when he saw the camera - perhaps startled by foreigners wearing thick (protective) vests. The older ones were only more than happy to tease him though.

Salah Nawah, a 12-year-old boy from Karada, explained to us why he wasn't a student.

He said a mortar landed on his school. And though it's since been repaired, his parents didn't want to send him back.

Nearby, Sabah sat selling fresh bread, baked in a clay oven. It's called a tanour in Arabic, or perhaps better known as a tandoori oven.

Three bakers wer busy inside - one to shape the dough into balls, another to flatten it out and put it the oven, and a third to take them out once ready.

With no customers in sight, the hot bread began to pile up. But Sabah said locals would at least have to come by for bread before dinner.

Next door, a produce stall also doing little business. And around the corner, men tended a general goods shop. For whatever reason, they were hesitant to speak to me, either on camera or off.

From there we headed along the Tigris river to Abu Nawas corniche and park. Another popular public place - also always full on public holidays - sat empty, although not quite abandoned.

A handful of families could be seen strolling along in the park, although most of the playgroud equipment went unused.

Workers at an unoccupied public pool there confirmed what we already knew - that everyone was staying home on election day, not wanting to take any unnecessary risks.

Heading back to the bureau, we were quickly stopped (routinely) at a police checkpoint.

Alongside us, the French Cultural Center with its blast walls painted in the style of ancient Babylonian artwork. A nice face on an ugly truth - that things are not yet right in this once-great city.