Thank you, IlikeBowling:). Yes, it was great to freely walk and mingle with the locals whenever we could, especially in the vibrant souqs and at the mosques.
Many thanks, HawaiiTrvlr:). Security was too tight to consider taking my drone, especially as they have been used for nefarious purposes by IS in Iraq.
South America is probably more likely, have only been there once and only to Brazil.

Really amazing trip report. Great job and kudos for taking the trek. Iraq is an amazing country that I hope over time will come back in a way that us westerners will be able to enjoy and learn from.

Always a great pleasure reading your trip reports, thank you for sharing once again!

Good point about the dangers of using of drones by ISIS. I didn't think about that.

Fantastic! Thank you [MENTION=673700]DanielW[/MENTION] for posting this report I really enjoyed reading it.
I hope Iraq will recover from the terrible war years.

Great as always. I tried to visit EBL and ISU last fall, but the Kurdish referendum halted that. While I still want to visit, you really make the south look much more worthwhile from an historic viewpoint. Would love to visit the mosques!

Did you find photography challenging? Because of security or just being in a group tour?

Thanks, kcmd:). Yes, hopefully it can one day be a relatively safe destination like neighbouring Iran.
​​​​​Cheers, llamaesque:). From the 'first' class experience on Iraqi Airways to the Shrines at Najaf, it was a very interesting and enjoyable trip.
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Thank you, vn33:). Yes, the country needs some much needed stability and time to heal after so much destruction and turmoil.
Many thanks, rivlinm:). The Mosques and Shrines in Najaf and Karbala were a real highlight, so amazing and felt so privileged to join the Shi'ite pilgrims there. Apart from the obvious places like at road checkpoints and at military areas in Baghdad, we had no real issues with photos.

Fantastic as always. I really admire your spirit

Thank you, glennaa11:). Luckily my curiosity and travel lust hasn't gotten me in trouble yet:).

Thank you very much for this trip report. Great pictures and a lot of insights and information, I did not knew until I read your report.

Thanks for another fantastic trip report DanielW.

Reading this, I can't help recall the funny Flyertalk thread: Erbil, Iraq: What Lounge?

I hope the country gets back to some normalcy in the future.

Thank you, FLYGVA:). Yes, I certainly learned alot from this trip to a very interesting part of the world too.
Many thanks, worldtraveller73:). I unfortunately didn't get a chance to check out the lounge at BGW or BSR. I'm sure the bomb shelters were very cosy though:D.

Absolutely mindblowing report, Daniel. One of your best so far!

It‘s always fun to read trip reports from the Middle East while being there.

Regards from bloody hot Amman.

Thank you, MA330:). A country I have wanted to visit for a while and really exceeded my expectation.
Hope you're having a dip in the Dead sea and enjoying the sights at Petra:).

great report, very inspiring
Actually, it gives a better insight of actual Irak life nowadays than many self called journalists did

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Nevertheless, I am positively surprised by the amount of actual archeological remainings

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thanks anyway, was a pleasure to read you, and indeed one of your best TR