Old Basra Shanasheel Quarter

Shanasheel are the projecting wooden balconies that characterise old Basra: carved and latticed screens on the upper floors, oversailing the street, designed to catch the breeze and give the women of the house a view without being seen, and often set with coloured glass. Whole streets of them survived into recent decades in the old quarters around Ashar and the creeks that once made Basra a city of canals. Many have collapsed or been lost, and what remains is a fragmentary and fragile townscape of houses in varying condition, some restored, some propped, some ruinous, with a few opened as museums or cafés. Restoration efforts have run in phases with mixed results, and walking here means seeing decay as much as survival.

The main sights

• Carved lattice balconies - shanasheel oversailing the narrow streets.
• Coloured glass - stained panels set into the wooden screens.
• Old canals - the creeks that gave Basra its Venice comparison.
• Buildings in decline - collapse and propping alongside restoration.

When to go

November to March; Basra is among the hottest cities on earth in summer, with temperatures that make walking impossible. Mornings are best. Humidity from the waterway is high year round.

Practical notes

Much of the quarter is derelict and some streets are unsafe to enter. Most houses are private and cannot be visited. Restoration has been patchy. This is a walk through a decaying townscape rather than a preserved historic district.

Nearby

The Shatt al-Arab corniche lies east; Al-Qurna is north.