Traditional carpet weaving in central Iraq unravels

Al-Hamza, Iraq

IN THE shadow of the Imam Hamza mosque in the region of the ancient kingdom of Babylon, a carpet market that was once bustling is now almost empty.

The only visitor to Hamad al-Soltani's small shop in the city of Al-Hamza in central Iraq, some 175 kilometres south of Baghdad, is a local tribal chief.