Baghdad Tower, Communications tower in Yarmouk, Baghdad, Iraq.
Baghdad Tower is a 204-metre communications tower in the Yarmouk district of western Baghdad, next to the al-Ma'mun Telecom Exchange. Its centre has seven floors, and a revolving restaurant with an observation deck sits at the top, crowned by the words "Allah is the Greatest".
The structure was completed in 1994, replacing a communications facility destroyed during the Gulf War. Following the 2003 invasion, the building underwent several name changes and operational adjustments.
The words "Allah is the Greatest" stand on top of the revolving restaurant, above the seven-floor centre. The tower was renamed Baghdad Tower after 2003, when American soldiers occupied it; before that it was the International Saddam Tower. Its name now ties it to the al-Ma'mun district and the adjoining al-Ma'mun Telecom Exchange.
The tower stands in the Yarmouk district of western Baghdad, next to the al-Ma'mun Telecom Exchange, which handles landline, mobile and internet traffic. It was refurbished and reopened on 26 December 2018 with new lighting, repaired lifts, gardens and a renovated revolving restaurant, but as of 2020 it remained closed despite public calls to open it. Check locally before travelling there.
After 2003 the tower was occupied by American soldiers and renamed Baghdad Tower. In 2007 a U.S. State Department advisor called it the "only discernible sign of major building construction in Baghdad" during the Ministry of Communications renewal project.
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