The collector Sabach stands in his home in Baghdad, surrounded by thousands of cassette tapes displayed on the walls. Most consider the cassettes remnants of the past, but for him, they evoke a period when Arabic music flourished. He manages two stores, trading in cassettes and other vintage items.
"I buy and sell these cassettes from the '70s because of my love for the previous performers," says Sabach. He has recordings of Iraqi, Arab, and foreign artists, which he keeps as an archive - he has 270,000 recordings. He collects cassettes from the '70s, noting that they have their own good reasons for purchase: they evoke nostalgia, and many songs from his collection are not available on YouTube.
"Many Iraqis are now looking for music they would like to listen to," notes Sabach. Currently, his stores are mostly visited by collectors eager to familiarize themselves with his wonderful collection.
