Bataween

Al-Bataween is a neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq. It is located in the eastern region of Baghdad, on the riverside of the Tigris and is part of Karrada district. Prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, it was the main Jewish quarter of Baghdad. Today, the neighborhood is inhabited by Muslims, Christians and a few Jews.

Originally built in the 1930s by Iraqi Jews and Armenian Christians, it was one of the most affluent neighborhoods and was home to numerous synagogues, churches, schools, yeshivas and clubs. After the majority of Jews left Iraq, the area became inhabited by Muslim families and later by Egyptians and Sudanese. Until 2003, most Iraqi Jews lived in Bataween. However, the war prompted many of the Jews to leave. As a result of the spillover from the civil war in Syria, many Syrian families have settled in Bataween.