OH, YOU MEAN THAT SIGN OF LIFE BEING NEARLY NORMAL IN BAGHDAD

Customers choose between Dead Sea mud masks, German cosmetics and Adidas sports gear at Baghdad's first hypermarket, a rare sign of private investment in the country.

"A car bomb could destroy everything, but we are leaving it to God," Dia Matar, general manager of B-Town, told Reuters. "We pressed on with the project during the U.S. invasion. Modern retail works in Dubai, Lebanon and Jordan. Iraq is no different."

The two-storey complex near the German embassy opened last month in a departure from grocery stores and specialist retailers that dominate trade in consumer goods, especially old markets such as al-Shorga in Baghdad's old sector.