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Iraqis Throng to Picasso in Baghdad

The Picasso in Baghdad exhibition allows Iraqis to experience fine art at first hand. (AFP)
The Picasso in Baghdad exhibition allows Iraqis to experience fine art at first hand. (AFP)
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Iraqis Throng to Picasso in Baghdad

The Picasso in Baghdad exhibition allows Iraqis to experience fine art at first hand. (AFP)
The Picasso in Baghdad exhibition allows Iraqis to experience fine art at first hand. (AFP)

Picasso, Dali, Miro, Chagall... names that are instantly recognizable in the international art world. Now works by these masters are being exhibited in Baghdad thanks to an anonymous Iraqi collector, said an Agence France Presse report.

The exhibition at the Hiwar gallery -- one of the last to remain open in the city -- includes 24 Picasso lithographs.

For gallery owner Qassem Sabti, "this exhibition is a historic chance" for Iraqis to feast their eyes on artworks of such a high standard, in a first for the capital.

"It is presented by an Iraqi person who prefers not to disclose his identity due to the circumstances in Baghdad," Sabti said, according to AFP.

There are 42 works in all being shown: in addition to those by Pablo Picasso, there is work by Salvador Dali, Joan Miro and Marc Chagall.

They "belong to an Iraqi who lives in the United Arab Emirates who wanted to open a museum dedicated to Picasso in Baghdad or Karbala, where he's from," said Sabti.

"But he wasn't able to do so as he couldn't secure the necessary guarantees to protect the artworks," added the gallery owner, who also heads the Iraqi Plastic Artists Society.

"The works on display are very valuable and have been collected over 30 years... some date from the 1950s and 1960s."

Priced at between $15,000 (12,600 euros) and $25,000 (21,000 euros), there is little chance of them being snapped up by local buyers.

Instead, the main aim of the show is to let them be seen by students and those who appreciate the fine arts.

For painter Mohammed Shawqi, "this exhibition reflects a return to stability in the country.

"Who would have dared mount a show of such valuable works just a few years ago?"

The exhibition was a breath of fresh air for 30-year-old engineer Zinah Sulaiman, who heard about it on Facebook.

It was the first time she had been able to see works by Picasso, "and I hope I will see more of this".

"It's important that art be supported here, especially since we are a people of culture and history."

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Varieties

Greece's 'Instagram Island' Santorini nears Saturation Point

Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP
Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP
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Greece's 'Instagram Island' Santorini nears Saturation Point

Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP
Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP

One of the most enduring images of Greece's summer travel brand is the world-famous sunset on Santorini Island, framed by sea-blue church domes on a jagged cliff high above a volcanic caldera.
This scene has inspired millions of fridge magnets, posters, and souvenirs -- and now the queue to reach the viewing spot in the clifftop village of Oia can take more than 20 minutes, said AFP.
Santorini is a key stopover of the Greek cruise experience. But with parts of the island nearing saturation, officials are considering restrictions.
Of the record 32.7 million people who visited Greece last year, around 3.4 million, or one in 10, went to the island of just 15,500 residents.
"We need to set limits if we don't want to sink under overtourism," Santorini mayor Nikos Zorzos told AFP.
"There must not be a single extra bed... whether in the large hotels or Airbnb rentals."
As the sun set behind the horizon in Oia, thousands raised their phones to the sky to capture the moment, followed by scattered applause.
For canny entrepreneurs, the Cycladic island's famous sunset can be a cash cow.
One company advertised more than 50 "flying dresses", which have long flowing trains, for up to 370 euros ($401), on posters around Oia for anyone who wishes to "feel like a Greek goddess" or spruce up selfies.
'Respect Oia'
But elsewhere in Oia's narrow streets, residents have put up signs urging visitors to respect their home.
"RESPECT... It's your holiday... but it's our home," read a purple sign from the Save Oia group.
Shaped by a volcanic eruption 3,600 years ago, Santorini's landscape is "unique", the mayor said, and "should not be harmed by new infrastructure".
Around a fifth of the island is currently occupied by buildings.
At the edge of the cliff, a myriad of swimming pools and jacuzzis highlight Santorini is also a pricey destination.
In 2023, 800 cruise ships brought some 1.3 million passengers, according to the Hellenic Ports Association.
Cruise ships "do a lot of harm to the island", said Chantal Metakides, a Belgian resident of Santorini for 26 years.
"When there are eight or nine ships pumping out smoke, you can see the layer of pollution in the caldera," she said.
Cruise ship limits
In June, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis floated the possibility of capping cruise ship arrivals to Greece's most popular islands.
"I think we'll do it next year," he told Bloomberg, noting that Santorini and tourist magnet Mykonos "are clearly suffering".
"There are people spending a lot of money to be on Santorini and they don’t want the island to be swamped," said the pro-business conservative leader, who was re-elected to a second four-year term last year.
In an AFP interview, Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni echoed this sentiment and said: "We must set quotas because it's impossible for an island such as Santorini... to have five cruise ships arriving at the same time."
Local officials have set a limit of 8,000 cruise boat passengers per day from next year.
But not all local operators agree.
Antonis Pagonis, head of Santorini's hoteliers association, believes better visitor flow management is part of the solution.
"It is not possible to have (on) a Monday, for example, 20 to 25,000 guests from the cruise ships, and the next day zero," he said.
Pagonis also argued that most of the congestion only affects parts of the island like the capital, Fira.
In the south of the island, the volcanic sand beaches are less crowded, even though it is high season in July.
'I'm in Türkiye
The modern tourism industry has also changed visitor behavior.
"I listened (to) people making a FaceTime call with the family, saying 'I'm in Türkiye," smiled tourist guide Kostas Sakavaras.
"They think that the church over there is a mosque because yesterday they were in Türkiye."
The veteran guide said the average tourist coming to the island has changed.
"Instagram has defined the way people choose the places to visit," he said, explaining everybody wants the perfect Instagram photo to confirm their expectations.