The city of Bagdad in Iraq is a diverse and cosmopolitan region. During the Iraqi Civil War, hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people fled to the city. This multi-cultural area includes neighborhoods with Shia and Sunni populations, Assyrians and Chaldeans, Armenians, and mixed neighborhoods. There is also a thriving Jewish community and pilgrims from the Sikh faith regularly come to the city.
During the World War I, the city was captured by the British. The British later took over southern Iraq, and Baghdad became the capital city of the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. The city underwent a series of planning and architectural projects. In 1932, the city became the capital of the Kingdom of Iraq. Its population grew from 145,000 in 1900 to more than five hundred thousand by the mid-1930s. During the 1980s, the city's economy suffered due to the Iran-Iraq war, and the money from the oil industry flowed to the Iraqi army.
Once an Arab cultural center, Baghdad was home to some of the most talented poets in the world. It also boasted the largest theatre in the Arab world. But unfortunately, the 2003 Invasion of Iraq destroyed the National Theatre and most of the city's cultural institutions. However, this has not stopped the city from retaining its artists. Although the city's population has declined dramatically, the arts and cultural institutions remain. They are rebuilding and reopening in order to continue the legacy of the past.