Salah Al-Din celebrates launch of Tikrit visual history spanning three centuries

SALAH AL-DIN — Salah Al-Din governorate recently celebrated the launch of Tikrit Between Two Centuries, a rare visual history by author and director Riyadh Jaber.

The collection, featuring 500 images spanning the 19th to the 21st centuries, is the result of Jaber’s three-decade-long effort to collect, restore, and curate historical photographs. Held at the Layali Dijla Hall in central Tikrit, the book signing event drew numerous cultural figures and local dignitaries, who gathered to discuss Tikrit’s historic identity, its cultural losses over time, and the duty of historians to revive the city’s often overlooked heritage.

Riyadh Jaber, author and director, told 964media, “Tikrit Between Two Centuries, or the photographic encyclopaedia of Tikrit from the 19th to 21st centuries, represents the culmination of 30 years of effort and dedication. The anthology includes the oldest known photo of Tikrit, taken in 1885, along with images from 1896 and various points in time documenting the transformations of its markets and neighborhoods. Most images were obtained from international archives, including British and Ottoman sources, and were painstakingly restored to address the limitations of early photographic methods.”

With nearly 500 photographs, including frames from historical film reels, the visual history reflects Jaber’s years of effort to clean, refine, and preserve these photographic treasures. “The aim of this book is to inspire future generations to safeguard the city’s cultural, social, and human heritage,” Jaber explained. He emphasized Tikrit’s unique status as a city, not a village, in the Ottoman era, where it served as the capital of five regions and continues to evolve.

Jaber has produced several documentaries, notably The Spirit of a City, a 55-minute film detailing Tikrit’s history, from its mention as the fourth city to emerge after Noah’s flood to its contemporary transformations and political changes. “After 2003, Tikrit rose like the legendary phoenix, an Iraqi city fed by the Tigris, showing its resilience.”

Prominent writer and journalist Hatif Al-Thalaj praised Jaber’s dedication, telling 964media, “Tikrit nearly lost its identity, but books like this mark a new phase in discovering the city. Riyadh’s work is a monumental effort; he has devoted years to collecting, documenting, and photographing these materials. I contributed the introduction and shared some rare photos with him.”

Al-Thalaj called on journalists, writers, and artists to invest in their cities, stating, “We must rewrite history truthfully and completely.”