The best way to describe the country of Iraq is likely to be a big history museum. There are few places I've been that has so much to offer in terms of the combination of recent and ancient history. Iraq has often been in the headline news stories the last decades, often for the wrong reasons, but that makes visiting the country extremely interesting!
I spent around one week in Iraq covering mostly the southern part, joining a great tour hosted by Xavier Raychell Blancharde and Ahmad Maan Al Mudhaffar from Travelling the Unknown. We started and ended in Baghdad, visiting places like Basra, Nasiriyah, Najaf, Ur and Babylon during the week. Babylon is a good example of the great variety of history in Iraq, as both the ancient city from thousands of years ago and the more recent palace of Saddam Hussein may be found here.
The biggest surprise of Iraq was the Mesopotamian Marshes in southern Iraq. Staying for a night in a Mudhif reed house, before heading out for a trip in a Mashoof canoe on the waters was an incredible experience. Few places have felt more peaceful and special than that, which is also due to the great hospitality of the locals.
Iraq is truly the gem of the Middle East for a photographer and traveller. So much interesting stuff to see and photograph, and as of today there are very few other tourists in sight. That makes Iraq a great place to visit!
Enjoy my full album from a week in Iraq below:
