Shabandar Café

Shabandar Café is one of Baghdad’s oldest and best-known coffeehouses. It stands at the end of al-Mutanabbi Street, close to the Qushla, in a district associated with booksellers, government institutions, scholarship, and public debate. More than a place to buy coffee or tea, the café has functioned as a social and intellectual meeting point where writers, poets, merchants, politicians, artists, civil servants, religious figures, and visitors discuss literature, politics, history, and contemporary Iraqi life. The café occupies a building whose earlier history is closely connected with the al-Shabandar family. Before becoming a coffeehouse, the premises housed al-Shabandar Press, a printing operation established in 1907 and associated with Musa al-Shabandar, a prominent Baghdadi merchant and political figure who later became Iraq’s foreign minister during the reign of King Faisal II. Accounts attributed to former long-time owner Muhammad al-Khashali place the coffeehouse’s opening in 1917. After the printing business declined and the building underwent changes, it was adapted for café use and began receiving customers. Its name derives from the al-Shabandar family; the word shāhbandar is a Persian title historically associated with a port master or official responsible for merchants and customs. From its early years, Shabandar Café developed a cultural role that distinguished it from ordinary neighborhood cafés. Concerts featuring Iraqi maqam were held there, with proceeds reportedly directed to charitable causes in Baghdad. Its location near state institutions also brought political figures and public officials into contact with writers and intellectuals. The café became associated with discussions involving figures such as Nuri al-Said and Abd al-Karim Qasim, and its surrounding area was connected with political mobilization, including opposition to the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty in 1948. The café suffered catastrophic damage during the March 2007 car bombing on al-Mutanabbi Street, an attack that killed more than one hundred people and destroyed the café and its library. Four sons and a grandson of Muhammad al-Khashali were among those killed. The disaster also caused severe personal losses for the family and temporarily led to reports that al-Khashali himself had died. He subsequently committed himself to rebuilding the venue as a cultural institution rather than allowing the attack to erase its historic identity. Reconstruction was supported by the Iraqi state, merchants, customers, and other well-wishers. The venue was also informally known for a period as the Martyrs Café. After restoration, Shabandar Café retained its traditional appearance and continued operating as a heritage venue. Its walls display historical photographs, newspaper clippings, testimonies, and portraits of Iraqi political, literary, artistic, and social figures, including images commemorating family members killed in the bombing. The building preserves elements of Baghdadi architectural practice, using brick, plaster, and gypsum, and includes two floors. The upper floor contains remnants of offices connected with the former printing operation. Old wooden seating and samovars help maintain the café’s pre-modern atmosphere. The café serves traditional beverages including Baghdadi-style lemon tea and coffee, as well as hookah. Unlike many Iraqi coffeehouses, it has traditionally restricted games such as dominoes and backgammon in order to prioritize conversation and cultural exchange. It remains a gathering point for Iraqis and foreign visitors, and Iraqi media have used it for interviews. Muhammad al-Khashali, who had operated the café since 1963 and became closely identified with its public image, died on 11 January 2025. His death prompted condolences from prominent Iraqis, including Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani. The café’s continuing importance rests on the combination of hospitality, memory, architectural heritage, and Baghdad’s literary and civic culture.

Shabandar Café’s history is inseparable from the commercial, political, and literary life of central Baghdad. The building at the end of al-Mutanabbi Street was originally associated with al-Shabandar Press, a printing business established in 1907 and owned by Musa al-Shabandar. Musa belonged to a wealthy and influential Baghdadi family whose name came from the Persian title shāhbandar, historically used for a port master or an official responsible for merchants and customs. The press connected the site with book production and public culture before the premises became a coffeehouse. Former long-time owner Muhammad al-Khashali stated that the coffeehouse began receiving customers in 1917. Following changes to the printing operation and the restoration of the building, the premises were adapted into a café and offered as a gathering place. Its location near the Qushla and government offices helped it attract a mixed public. Over time, writers, poets, intellectuals, merchants, officials, and politicians used the café for conversation and informal exchange. The venue was also associated with Iraqi maqam performances, with proceeds from some concerts directed to charitable activity. Its surrounding area became linked to political discussion and demonstrations, including protest activity connected with opposition to the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty in 1948. The café’s cultural importance grew because it preserved a setting in which discussion took precedence over entertainment. It traditionally discouraged games such as dominoes and backgammon, and televisions and loud amusement were not central to its identity. Instead, customers read, talked, exchanged ideas, and met people from different parts of Baghdad’s social and intellectual life. The interior preserved old wooden furniture, samovars, photographs, and printed materials. Images of Ottoman-era officials, Iraqi kings, ministers, poets, artists, and other public figures turned the café into a small visual archive of Iraqi history. In March 2007, the café and much of al-Mutanabbi Street were devastated by a car bombing during the period of sectarian violence that followed the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. The attack killed more than one hundred people and destroyed the coffeehouse, including its library. Four of al-Khashali’s sons and one grandson died in the blast. The family suffered additional trauma, and al-Khashali was initially believed by some to have been among the dead. Rather than abandon the site, he sought to restore it and preserve its traditional character. Reconstruction received support from the state, merchants, customers, and other members of the public. The rebuilt venue acquired the additional informal name Martyrs Café in remembrance of those killed. The bombing also generated cultural responses. Two days afterward, poet Ahmed Hussain recited a poem among the ruins before a gathering of journalists, residents, and visitors. Filmmaker Emad Ali Abbas made the documentary A Candle for Shabandar Café, combining a history of the venue with interviews and images of café life. The film was intended to present Baghdad’s intellectual and social culture alongside, rather than only through, images of violence. Abbas was later assaulted and robbed while leaving al-Mutanabbi Street during the production process, and his recovery became part of the documentary’s closing account. The film won third prize in the Student Documentary category at the 2008 Gulf Film Festival in Dubai. After reconstruction, the café continued to operate and retained its external appearance and traditional interior. Its walls displayed photographs, newspaper clippings, testimonies, and memorial images, including portraits of the family members killed in 2007. The building remains notable for its Baghdadi architectural features, including brick, plaster, and gypsum construction and a two-floor layout. The upper floor preserves former offices linked to the pre-1930s printing activity. The café continues to serve coffee, traditional tea, Baghdadi lemon tea, and hookah, while functioning as a meeting place for merchants, sheikhs, employees, writers, journalists, and international visitors. Muhammad al-Khashali, who had managed the café since 1963, died on 11 January 2025. His death marked the passing of the individual most closely associated with the café’s modern era, but the venue remains an important heritage and cultural landmark of Baghdad.

• 2025

  Death of Muhammad al-Khashali

  [1]Shabandar Caféen.wikipedia.org

  The café’s long-time operator died on 11 January 2025.

• 2008

  Documentary receives festival prize

  [1]Shabandar Caféen.wikipedia.org

  A Candle for Shabandar Café won third prize in the Student Documentary section of the Gulf Film Festival.

• 2007

  Bombing and destruction

  [1]Shabandar Caféen.wikipedia.org

  A car bombing on al-Mutanabbi Street destroyed the café and library and killed members of the al-Khashali family.

• 1963

  Muhammad al-Khashali begins operating the café

  [1]Shabandar Caféen.wikipedia.org

  Muhammad al-Khashali took over operation of the coffeehouse and remained its best-known operator until his death in 2025.

• 1948

  Site associated with treaty protests

  [1]Shabandar Caféen.wikipedia.org

  The café and its surrounding area became associated with demonstrations opposing the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty.

• 1917

  Coffeehouse begins receiving customers

  [1]Shabandar Caféen.wikipedia.org

  According to former owner Muhammad al-Khashali, the premises began operating as a coffeehouse in 1917.

• 1907

  Al-Shabandar Press established

  [1]Shabandar Caféen.wikipedia.org

  The building later occupied by the café was associated with al-Shabandar Press, owned by Musa al-Shabandar and used for printing books.

A historic, non-commercially oriented Baghdadi coffeehouse positioned as a cultural heritage landmark and forum for conversation, literature, politics, and social exchange.

• Hot beverages

  Coffee

  Coffee is part of the café’s traditional beverage offering and is served within a historic coffeehouse environment rather than a modern specialty-coffee format.

• Traditional tea

  Baghdadi-style lemon tea

  Traditional lemon tea prepared in the Baghdadi manner is one of the café’s characteristic drinks and reflects its connection to long-established Iraqi coffeehouse culture.

• Traditional café service

  Hookah

  The café offers hookah as part of its customary hospitality and social experience.

• 2007

  Al-Mutanabbi Street bombing

  A car bomb destroyed Shabandar Café and its library during the violence that followed the 2003 invasion of Iraq. More than one hundred people were killed in the broader attack, including four sons and a grandson of operator Muhammad al-Khashali. The café was later rebuilt with public and private support.

  Source

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• 2007

  Rebuild as a cultural landmarkStrategy

  Background

  The café was completely destroyed in the al-Mutanabbi Street bombing, along with its library and much of its historic material.

  Action taken

  Muhammad al-Khashali pursued reconstruction with assistance from the Iraqi state, merchants, customers, and other supporters, seeking to preserve the café’s old identity and cultural function.

  Aftermath

  The venue reopened after restoration, retained its traditional appearance, and became additionally known as the Martyrs Café.

  Source

1. 1Shabandar Caféen.wikipedia.org