BAGHDAD — Souk al-Shorja is Baghdad's oldest market. It was established in the late Abbasid period about A.D. 750 and was first called Souk al-Rayahin then Souk al-Attarin. It is part of the historic area that includes the Abbasid palace on the Tigris River and the Khulafa mosque on al-Jumhuriya Street. "Shorja" means "salty water" in Arabic, and there was once a well where the market is now.
This market has remained throughout this period and later, and preserved the style of its shops, stores and squares that still swarm with shoppers and merchants.