{
  "id": 6786928,
  "title": "Restoration of Arabic poetry pioneer’s Basra home stirs a forgotten past",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/11/restoration-of-arabic-poetry-pioneers-basra-home-stirs-a-forgotten-6786928",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-11T18:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National UAE",
    "slug": "the-national-uae",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/09/11/restoration-of-arabic-poetry-pioneers-basra-home-stirs-a-forgotten-past/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the southern region of Iraq, the home of Badr Shakir Al Sayyab, a pioneer of modern Arabic poetry, is being restored to life in an effort to revive the country's neglected heritage. Al Sayyab, born in 1926 in Jaykur village outside Basra, helped launch free verse, or Al Shi’r Al Hurr, in Arabic poetry. He is now recognized as the father of modern Arabic poetry, with his work taught in schools across the Arab world and translated into many languages. Al Sayyab passed away in Kuwait in 1964 at the age of 38 due to a neurological disease.\n\nThe restoration of Al Sayyab's childhood home is a joint effort by the European Union, UNESCO, and Iraq's Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Antiquities. The project aims to transform the house into a cultural center and literary museum, part of a larger UNESCO initiative to revive Basra and Mosul's old quarters and landmarks. The restoration is being carried out by 25-year-old Dimah Al Khweder, who serves as an architect and is part of the project's focus on building heritage rehabilitation skills among young Iraqis.\n\nAl Khweder, who has never lived in the house, has pieced together its past through family stories and the accounts of her relatives. As she steps into the house, she feels a mix of pride and emotion, remembering the stories and experiences attached to various rooms and corners. She particularly remembers the inner courtyard, once filled with Arabian Jasmine flowers, where her aunts would make floral garlands in the afternoons and around sunset.\n\nThe restoration process has involved documenting the house's history, from its construction and previous occupants to the lives of those who called it home. This part of the project has been especially rewarding for Al Khweder, as it has allowed her to learn more about her family history. However, the restoration has been challenging, as the house had been neglected and left closed for years, and previous attempts to restore it had failed. The team has had to rely on people's knowledge and memories, as no photographs were available.\n\nThe restoration team is using traditional materials, such as mud bricks and Farshi flooring, with improved quality and durability. The roof, one of the most challenging parts of the project, required new timber known locally as Jandal to be imported. The original rooms have been preserved and adapted for the new cultural center, with some becoming exhibition spaces and others housing a library and materials related to Al Sayyab's work. The aim is to respect the historic building while giving it a renewed spirit.",
  "summary": "Deep in Iraq ’s south, the birthplace of one of the pioneers of modern Arabic poetry is slowly being brought back to life, in a boost to the country's neglected heritage. Badr Shakir Al Sayyab, born in 1926 in Jaykur village outside Basra, broke away from classical Arabic poetic forms that relied on a single rhyme and metre. Along with other poets, including Nazik Al Malaika, he helped launch…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The National Business",
        "title": "Restoration of Arabic poetry pioneer’s Basra home stirs a forgotten past",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/11/restoration-of-arabic-poetry-pioneers-basra-home-stirs-a-forgotten",
        "published": "2026-09-11T18:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}