An island of calm and sanity in the affluent Maliki district, the shaded lanes and lawns attract a discerning crowd to stroll and snooze away a hot afternoon. The park is named Al-Jahiz, or bug-eyed, after the nickname for the legendary scholar Abu Uthman Amr ibn Bahr al-Kinani al-Basri, born in 776 and best known for his Book of Animals which discussed early concepts of natural selection and animal psychology, centuries before anyone else. You'll find his suitably goggle-eyed statue at the top of the park.
