Souk al-Safafeer

'Market of the yellow copper') is an ancient souk or bazaar in Baghdad, Iraq, that branches off al-Rashid Street and connects to al-Mustansiriyya Madrasa.

[1] The current market is said to date back to between 1600 and 1618 during the Ottoman period and is located on the western side of al-Rasheed Street.

[4] During the Iraq War, many US coalition troops bought a lot of the items in the market which left barely any remaining antiques and copperwork.

[6] Since the US invasion that toppled former president Saddam Hussein and the Ba'ath Party in 2003, the souk has been declining and suffering from government neglect and a lack of customers and tourists visiting it.

There was also the issue of shop owners who imported cheap Chinese materials in order to make a quick profit.

The biggest issue that the market faces has been cited by the remaining coppersmiths to be government neglect and lack of support from state officials.

The souk selling copper pots and plates in 1932.
A coppersmith in the market in 1962, photographed by photographer Latif al-Ani .