But Bashir himself rarely spent his time in Baghdad and finally left the country after the First Gulf War in 1991. Guest performances mainly in Europe offered him a big open-minded audience, and therefore an excellent platform for the presentation of his meanwhile very original and mature style of improvisation and composition. Most of his records were also recorded in Europe. In his last years he aimed at making his son Omar his musical successor. A duo-recording of Bashir and Omar made in February 1994 is considered to be a classic of Bashir's Œuvre, because of its exemplary combination of traditional – mainly folk – material mixed with improvisation.