[custom_adv] A shopping mall held a fashion show on Thursday. The event featured modern fashion from the old country. Both Iraqi and Iranian models strutted down the catwalk. [custom_adv] Over the past year a string of high profile murders have rocked the country targeting female socialites perceived as being counter to Middle Eastern cultural norms. [custom_adv] Baghdad is the capital of Iraq. The population of Baghdad, as of 2016, is approximately 8,765,000, making it the largest city in Iraq, the second largest city in the Arab world (after Cairo, Egypt), and the second largest city in Western Asia. [custom_adv] Located along the Tigris River, the city was founded in the 8th century and became the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. Within a short time of its inception, Baghdad evolved into a significant cultural, commercial, and intellectual center for the Islamic world. [custom_adv] Baghdad was the largest city of the Middle Ages for much of the Abbasid era, peaking at a population of more than a million. [custom_adv] The city was largely destroyed at the hands of the Mongol Empire in 1258, resulting in a decline that would linger through many centuries due to frequent plagues and multiple successive empires. [custom_adv] A shopping mall held a fashion show on Thursday. The event featured modern fashion from the old country. Both Iraqi and Iranian models strutted down the catwalk. [custom_adv] Over the past year a string of high profile murders have rocked the country targeting female socialites perceived as being counter to Middle Eastern cultural norms.