Al-Shaheed Monument
Encyclopedia
The al-Shaheed Monument , also known as the Martyr's Memorial, is a monument in the Iraq
i capital Baghdad
dedicated to the Iraqi soldiers who died in the Iran-Iraq war
. The Monument was opened in 1983, and was designed by Ismail Fattah al-Turki. During the 1970s and 1980s, Saddam Hussein
's government spent a lot of money on new monuments, which included the al-Shaheed Monument .
, which resembles the domes of the Abbasid era. The two halves of the split dome are offset, with an eternal flame
in the middle. The shells are constructed of a galvanized steel frame with glazed turquoise ceramic
tile cladding which was pre-cast in carbon fiber reinforced concrete
. The rest of the site consists of parks, a playground, parking lots, walkways, bridges, and the lake.
A museum, library, cafeteria, lecture hall and exhibition gallery are located in two levels underneath the domes.
The monument is located on the East side of the Tigris
river, near the Army Canal which separates Sadr city
from the rest of Baghdad. The current fate of the monument is unknown due to the violence and uncertainty caused by the ongoing instability in Iraq, but there are no plans to demolish it like the Hands of Victory
arch.
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i capital Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
dedicated to the Iraqi soldiers who died in the Iran-Iraq war
Iran-Iraq War
The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between the armed forces of Iraq and Iran, lasting from September 1980 to August 1988, making it the longest conventional war of the twentieth century...
. The Monument was opened in 1983, and was designed by Ismail Fattah al-Turki. During the 1970s and 1980s, Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
's government spent a lot of money on new monuments, which included the al-Shaheed Monument .
Design
The monument consists of a circular platform 190 meters in diameter in the center of an artificial lake. On the platform sits an enormous 40 meter tall split turquoise domeDome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
, which resembles the domes of the Abbasid era. The two halves of the split dome are offset, with an eternal flame
Eternal flame
An eternal flame is a flame or torch that burns day and night for an indefinite period. The flame that burned constantly at Delphi was an archaic feature, "alien to the ordinary Greek temple"....
in the middle. The shells are constructed of a galvanized steel frame with glazed turquoise ceramic
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
tile cladding which was pre-cast in carbon fiber reinforced concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
. The rest of the site consists of parks, a playground, parking lots, walkways, bridges, and the lake.
A museum, library, cafeteria, lecture hall and exhibition gallery are located in two levels underneath the domes.
The monument is located on the East side of the Tigris
Tigris
The Tigris River is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq.-Geography:...
river, near the Army Canal which separates Sadr city
Sadr City
Sadr City is a suburb district of the city of Baghdad, Iraq. It was built in 1959 by Prime Minister Abdul Karim Qassim and later unofficially renamed Sadr City after deceased Shia leader Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr....
from the rest of Baghdad. The current fate of the monument is unknown due to the violence and uncertainty caused by the ongoing instability in Iraq, but there are no plans to demolish it like the Hands of Victory
Hands of Victory
The Arc of Triumph; , also called the Swords of Qādisīyah، and Hands of Victory in some Western sources, are a pair of triumphal arches in central Baghdad, Iraq. Each arch consists of a pair of hands holding crossed swords...
arch.