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Si’luwa Huntصيد السعلوة

سعلوة HUNT: a motorcyclist passes an old shanasheel house at night, in black and white

Halloween night, 2025 · Baghdad

One night, many cameras, one creature nobody has ever photographed.

Scroll to start the hunt ↓

The walk

الجولة

On Halloween, Henna Society walked the city of Baghdad, looking for Si’luwa. We checked alleys, riverbanks, rooftops, even the corners where old stories sleep.

في ليلة الهالوين، مشى مجتمع حنّة في شوارع بغداد للبحث عن السعلوة. فتّشنا الأزقّة، ضفاف النهر، أسطح البيوت، وحتى الزوايا التي تنام فيها الحكايات القديمة.

لا تظهر إلا لمن يبحث عنها.She only appears to those who look for her.

A huge blurred dark shape rising over the Tigris at night, city lights behind — She rises from the riverBaneen Abbas

The huntالصيد

The streets are dark. Move your finger or your mouse to shine a torch, and find what the photographers found.

Sightings found 0 / 0

A blurred figure walking past an arcade of old arches at night — Under the archesMuhannad Abboud

A white blurred figure in a narrow brick corridor — In the corridorBaneen Abbas

Two dark handprints on a concrete wall — Something was hereMuhannad Abboud

A pale ghostly streak across a wall beneath barbed wire — Along the fenceAhmed Ghalib

A kitten watching from inside a dumpster — Eyes in the darkMuhannad Abboud

The silhouette of a hand reaching for a branch — A hand reachingMuhannad Abboud

A wooden boat overgrown with reeds at the river's edge at night — Where she lives, by the riverAhmed Ghalib

A car speeding past in a blur, a shadow at the window — Passing byBaneen Abbas

A cat crossing a corrugated roof above the river — On the roofsMuhannad Abboud

Look againانظر مرّة أخرى

The same window, seconds apart.

An empty window in an old brick house at night — Wait. Don’t look away.Ahmed Ghalib

The same window, now with a dark grainy figure standing in it — Wait. Don’t look away.Ahmed Ghalib

A figure pulled into a spinning tunnel of light — Into the alleyMuhannad Abboud

The red nightالليلة الحمراء

Later, by the river, the light turned red.

A motorcycle headlight coming down a red-lit riverside path, a bridge behind — Coming down the river pathMuhannad Abboud

A cat outlined in red light against the dark — GlowingMuhannad Abboud

A double-exposed portrait of a man lit red by the Tigris — Two facesLaith Zaied

A moon behind a bare tree in a red sky — The moonMuhannad Abboud

A red lamp over the river at night, a figure in silhouette — The last lightAhmed Ghalib

An abstract green swirl of light, like water or smoke — And then she was goneBaneen Abbas

A patterned carpet draped over a chair in an empty street at night, in front of closed shop shutters and the brick arches of Al-Mustansiriya school

But Si’luwa didn’t hide.

لكن السعلوة لم تختبئ.

She stood in the open, a rug on Al-Nahr Street, leaning calmly in front of Al-Mustansiriya school, like she had always been there.

كانت في العلن. سجّادة واقفة في شارع النهر، مستندة بهدوء أمام المدرسة المستنصرية، كأنها كانت هناك منذ زمن بعيد.

Some recognized a rug.

هناك من رآها سجّادة.

But one person recognized her.

وهناك من رآها هي.

Winner of the Si’luwa Hunt

Laith Zaiedليث زايد

Al-Nahr Street, Baghdad · Halloween 2025

More from the walkالمزيد من الجولة

Every photographer, every street.

A door left ajar onto a red carpet — DoorLaith Zaied

An old house and palm in red light — HouseMuhannad Abboud

A vine against coloured lights in an alley — VineLaith Zaied

Two black hens on a box against a wall — HensMuhannad Abboud

A blurred figure with zigzag light trails — TrailsBaneen Abbas

A green-lit street in motion blur — Green streetLaith Zaied

A chain on an iron gate — GateMuhannad Abboud

The river under a red sky through palm fronds — RiverMuhannad Abboud

Cables crossing a column with Arabic writing — WiresLaith Zaied

A hand with rings on a brick wall — WallMuhannad Abboud

A palm tree at night — PalmMuhannad Abboud

A tree against a violet night sky — TreeLaith Zaied

Photographers: Ahmed Ghalibأحمد غالب
: Muhannad Abboudمهند عبود
: Baneen Abbasبنين عباس
: Laith Zaiedليث زايد
Organised by: Henna Societyمجتمع حنّة
Cover: Henna Magazine

Baghdad is full of stories that only respond when someone looks with intention.بغداد ممتلئة بحكايات لا تُجيب إلا لمن ينظر بنيّة.

Thank you to everyone who took part, who walked, guessed, argued, and squinted at sidewalks.

Join the next Henna Society walkانضمّوا إلى جولة مجتمع حنّة القادمة

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