Founded on the banks of the Tigris in 762 and called City of Peace, Baghdad boasts 13 bridges spanning the river, linking the two settlements on the eastern and western banks of the capital which sprawls over some 50 kilometres (30 miles).

Al Kharakh, on the west bank, is home to the airport, now stripped off its title Saddam International, a number of Saddam Hussein's presidential palaces, key ministries and luxury hotels like the Al Rashid, temporary home of visiting VIPS.

It also houses the Republican Palace, bombed several times since the start of the war 17 days ago, a veritable fortress built along the riverside in the heart of the city and dating from the first days of the Republic in 1958.

Well-to-do neighbourhoods like Al Mansur, Al Yarmuk and Sidiyya are home to a thriving middle class and an extensive foreign community, while the architecture is on the grand scale, with vast monuments and wide avenues giving it the air of a major international city.

On the opposite bank, Al Russafa is the very image of old Baghdad, with its popular markets, minarets, museums and old palaces, narrow streets and busy cafes.

It also houses Tahrir or Liberation Square, dominated by a huge monument commemorating the overthrow of the monarchy in 1958.

In addition, a number of government ministries are based here, cheek by jowl with the predominantly Shiite Muslim population, closely watched for signs of unrest in their massive poorer neighbourhoods, Saddam City pre-eminent among them.

Abu Nawwass Avenue, on the east bank, is one of the longest boulevards in the capital. Once a popular haunt with foreign tourists in the 1970s, the avenue has lost some of its gloss over the years but remains famous for its fish restaurants.

SPACE.WIRE