Day 5.

Eggs, bread and cheese for breakfast on the morning of day 5.


The local morning newspaper with the headline "Abadi: We are committed to constitutional entitlements and holding elections on time".


Today's plan was to drive south from Karbala to Al Kifl to visit the tomb of the biblical prophet Ezekiel. We would then drive further south to the Great Mosque of Kufa in the city of Kufa before ending the day in Najaf.


Looking down on a checkpoint to the two holy mosques as we leave Karbala.


A seemingly endless row of faces of soldiers killed in the fight against ISIS on the side of the road as we head south.


Looking up at the leaning 14th-century brick minaret (right) after we arrived at Al-Nukhailah Mosque in Al Kifl.


The mosque is also the site of tomb of the Islamic Prophet Dhul-Kifl, mentioned twice in the Koran and who is often identified as Ezekiel, a Hebrew prophet who preached to the Jews in captivity under Nebuchadnezzar in the sixth century BC.


And inside Ezekiel's Tomb, which was originally built back in the 7th century as a synagogue.


It was quite fascinating seeing the Hebrew writing in what is now an Islamic religious site.


Up until 1947 there was an Iraqi Jewish population of ~156,000 and was one of the largest and most prominent Jewish communities in the Middle East. Until the mid-20th century, over 5,000 Jewish pilgrims used to come to the tomb all over Iraq during Passover.

After subsequent persecution by the Iraqi authorities, the current Jewish population in Iraq is estimated to be now less than 10.


On the left inside the mosque are the burial places of other religious figures.


And Julian marvelling at the book some of the locals were using to learn English, poetry by Shakespeare!


And a group photo in the mosque courtyard with the Shi'ite caretaker of the tomb after the fascinating visit. Up until recently Westerners were not allowed here so it was quite a privilege to be able to visit.