A Ukrainian engine sitting idle.


Getting some snacks at the station shop. The shopkeeper was very welcoming and even tried to insist we not pay!


Passing by the abandoned construction site of the Grand National Mosque. It was to be the largest mosque in the world but the 2003 US-led invasion halted its progress.


At our next stop, the National Museum of Iraq.


Charlie posing for a selfie with some visiting high school students.


The museum had been extensively looted in the turmoil following the US-led invasion in 2003. Fortunately many artifacts were saved however by secretly storing them in preparation for the war.


A mother goddess statue made from white marble from ~6000 BC.


Following significant efforts to recover looted items and restore the museum after assistance from the US and Italian governments, the museum was officially reopened by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in February 2015.


The Bassetki Statue, a monument from the Akkadian period (2350–2100 BCE) in Mesopotamia that was cast from pure copper and weighs 150 kilograms although only the lower part of the figure remains. It was looted from the museum during the 2003 invasion of Iraq but was recovered by American Military Police and found covered in axle grease and at the bottom of a cesspit after a tip-off.


Raad and Julian in front of a very large and imposing Lamassu, an Assyrian protective deity having a human's head, a body of a bull and the wings of a bird. It was excavated from Dur-Sharrukin ("Fortress of Sargon"), 15 km northeast of Mosul.


A picture of the Ishtar Gate, the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon that was constructed in ~575 BC by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II. After excavation from 1902 to 1914 by the German Archaeologist, Robert Koldewey", the Ishtar Gate was rebuilt at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin in the 1930's.


A bronze statue of the god Hercules dating from the Hellenistic period (312-139 BC).


In the final section of the museum, the Islamic period, with the wooden box of the seventh imam, Al-Imam Musa al-Kadhim bin Jaa'far Al-Sadiq bin Mohammed al-Baqir bin Ali Zine Al-Abidin bin Al-Hussein bin Ali bin Abi Talib (peace be upon them).


The museum was amazingly comprehensive and despite the looting in 2003, it was still rich with art and artifacts from the ancient Sumerian, Babylonian, Akkadian and Assyrian civilizations. It was quite a delight to explore in our few hours there and really exceeded my expectations.

After our dose of ancient history at the museum, we then headed out to see some more of Baghdad.


Locals enjoying a break beside the Tigris.