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Two weeks in Iraq

Two weeks in Iraq

Old Dec 15, 2021, 7:36 pm
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Two weeks in Iraq

I recently returned from spending two weeks in Iraq (plus a 3 day layover in Qatar afterwards). Much of my travel is to the less popular corners of the world (see past trips reports to Afghanistan, west Africa, central Asia & Mauritania), so this wasn't that unusual of a destination for me. To be honest, Iraq was actually a last minute decision after some pandemic related chaos made my plans to visit Chad fall apart just weeks before hand. Despite that, the trip went quite well, and I experienced a decent chunk of Iraq. The trip was arranged by a tour company based in Erbil, Kurdistan, with half the trip in southern (Arab) Iraq, and the other half in Kurdistan. I had a guide and/or driver throughout, although my time in the evenings was free to do as I wished.

Getting to and into Iraq was a relatively painless experience. I flew on Qatar Air (via Doha) into Baghdad, where Iraq recently started issuing visas on arrival (for many nationalities) earlier this year.

My time in southern (Arab) Iraq included:
  • seeing sites in and around Baghdad, including Ctesiphon, the Iraq Museum & Martyr's Monument
  • the old mosque and spiral minaret of Samara
  • the ancient city of Babylon and Saddam's old palace
  • the holy city and shrines in Karbala
  • the shrines and cemetery of Najaf
  • the ancient city of Ur
  • exploring the marshes of southeastern Iraq
After southern Iraq we drove back to Baghdad from Nassiriyah, and flew on Iraqi Air up to the capital of Kurdistan, Erbil. Baghdad's airport has some crazy bonkers security (possibly more than Kabul before the Taliban re-took the country earlier this year). We had to clear 4 layers of security, starting 2km away from the terminal, and ending at the gate. The flight itself was a non-event, departing a few minutes late and landing early. It was a relatively recent 737, with drinks and a snack for a barely 90 minute flight.

My time in Iraqi Kurdistan included:
  • the old town of Akre
  • the Yazedi holy town of Lalish
  • Amediya, and Saddam's Gara mountain estate
  • Barzan gorge and Shanidar cave
  • Sites in and around Sulymaniya, including the museum documenting the torture of the Kurds
  • Halabja (where Saddam gassed the Kurds) and Ahmed Awa waterfall (where Iran captured 3 Americans for supposedly crossing the border)
  • The Koy Sinjak caravanserai
  • Sites around Erbil including the citadel
  • a day trip out to Mosul, which was occupied and largely destroyed by ISIS

The differences between southern Iraq & Kurdistan were often quite stark. There's a lot of money & development flowing into Kurdistan (especially Erbil), and it shows with western chains, excellent roads and a much higher standard of living. Southern Iraq still feels very much stuck in time, struggling to escape the effects of two US invasions and decades of Saddam's rule. Lots of security checkpoints (and heavily armed police) everywhere, and I was even detained by Iraqi secret police for 30 minutes outside of Nasariya, where their limited English made the interrogation more amusing than effective. Despite this, people were generally friendly and welcoming everywhere, even if English proficiency was limited outside the major cities. Iraq is a fascinating country with millennia of history, and some gorgeous scenery (particularly in Kurdistan).

What follows are some of the photographic highlights of the trip:


the martyr's monument in Baghdad

the minaret and original grand mosque of Samara

what remains of Mosul, following air strikes on ISIS

The ruins of a 19th century Mosul church, after ISIS intentionally destroyed it

the ancient city of Babylon

Najaf shrine

the holiest Shia muslim shrine

Gara mountain, Kurdistan

driving west to Sulaymaniyah

Koy Sinjaq thousand year old caravanserai

pilgrims at the shrine

world's largest cemetery, Najaf

Ukaydir fortress

Ctesiphon

Al Zubara fortress, Qatar

I have many additional
available for those who are curious. I have a detailed day by day trip report available https://netllama.linux-sxs.org/llamaland/?p=3223 for anyone who wants more details. I'm also happy to answer questions here.

thanks for reading!
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Old Dec 16, 2021, 7:21 am
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Thanks for sharing! the pictures are beautiful.
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Old Dec 16, 2021, 1:40 pm
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The photos are absolutely amazing! Thank you so much for posting.
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Old Dec 17, 2021, 3:10 am
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Agreed - beautiful photography of a country not often visited, certainly not on FT - thank you so much for sharing them! That image from Ctesiphon is quite something, I'm ashamed to say I had never heard of it.
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Old Dec 17, 2021, 8:18 am
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Originally Posted by wannabeglobetrotter
Thanks for sharing! the pictures are beautiful.
thanks!

Originally Posted by dcmike
The photos are absolutely amazing! Thank you so much for posting.
thank you


Originally Posted by daftboy
Agreed - beautiful photography of a country not often visited, certainly not on FT - thank you so much for sharing them! That image from Ctesiphon is quite something, I'm ashamed to say I had never heard of it.
I had never heard of Ctesiphon before going there either. While Iraq does have some famous ancient places, its got a lot that are completely unknown to most foreigners.
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Old Dec 17, 2021, 8:00 pm
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Thanks for the report netllama, beautiful pics indeed.

Last edited by NWIFlyer; Dec 17, 2021 at 10:27 pm Reason: Remove deleted post and response
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Old Dec 18, 2021, 10:36 am
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Originally Posted by BobFF68
Thanks for the report netllama, beautiful pics indeed.
Thank you!
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Old Dec 20, 2021, 2:36 pm
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Phenomenal! Thank you so much for posting these...
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Old Dec 20, 2021, 9:27 pm
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Incredible photos. Thank you for sharing, netllama!

-FlyerBeek
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Old Dec 21, 2021, 8:18 am
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Originally Posted by as219
Phenomenal! Thank you so much for posting these...
Glad you enjoyed them!


Originally Posted by FlyerBeek
Incredible photos. Thank you for sharing, netllama!

-FlyerBeek
Thanks!
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Old Jan 18, 2022, 9:02 am
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Incredible photographs! Thank you very much for sharing.
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Old Jan 19, 2022, 8:14 am
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Originally Posted by FLR95
Incredible photographs! Thank you very much for sharing.

Thanks!
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Old Jan 19, 2022, 2:22 pm
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Thank you!
great photos.

how long did your meeting with the secret Police take place?

how much time did you allow for the 4 layers of airport security, starting with the gate that was 2-km away? Did USA or Iraqi or Qatari people carry out security at the gate? Actually reminds me of gate security I had in China / Germany in recent decades.
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Old Jan 20, 2022, 8:08 am
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Originally Posted by gaobest
Thank you!
great photos.

how long did your meeting with the secret Police take place?

how much time did you allow for the 4 layers of airport security, starting with the gate that was 2-km away? Did USA or Iraqi or Qatari people carry out security at the gate? Actually reminds me of gate security I had in China / Germany in recent decades.

The Iraqi secret police meeting was around 20 minutes.

The Baghdad airport security process took about 20 minutes from the start until we entered the terminal.

I flew out of SFO, and there is no gate security there. Both Baghdad and Doha airports had another security screening at the gate.
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Old Jan 21, 2022, 5:29 am
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Simply Beautiful, and some sadness... Thank you for sharing!

Michael
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