Iraq

My Iraq travel summary:

Visited: December 2021

Duration of visit: 14 days

Capital city: Baghdad

Population: 40.3 million (2021)

Iraq travel blog reading time: 15 minutes

• Baghdad – a run-down but charismatic old town, with cafés, bookshops, and Al-Mutanabbi Street.
• Visiting Babylon and Saddam’s Palace, where I met Iraqis who later invited me to their homes across the country.
• Karbala – a holy Shia city with the shrines of Imam Husayn and Abbas.
• Najaf – home to the Imam Ali Shrine, one of Islam’s spiritual capitals.
• Nasiriyah – home staying, BBQ picnic and climbing pyramid Ziggurat of Ur.
• Mosul – once ISIS’s capital, still in ruins but slowly recovering.
• More developed, but less engaging Iraqi Kurdistan, with strict checkpoints and limited sights.

Recent conflicts and extremist attacks have made travel to Iraq especially challenging and complicated in recent decades. I did not seriously consider Iraq as a destination at first. However, at the end of 2021, my search for unvisited countries with good December weather, no Covid-19 restrictions and affordable flights, led me to Iraq.

As soon as I learned that the country had become safe enough to visit and introduced a visa-on-arrival program, I was ready for Iraq travel adventure.

A long visa queue delayed my arrival at Baghdad airport in the middle of the night. I stood as the only real visitor among a group of Iraqi travelers with foreign passports. A stranger I met through Couchsurfing, Hassan, waited for me at a garage outside the airport’s secured zone.

The fact that somebody came to the airport at 2:00am, waited for me as a complete stranger for an hour and drove me to my hotel was one of the most pleasant surprises of my entire backpacking career.

Moreover, Hassan’s service was free of charge!

I explored Iraq’s capital mostly with locals I met through Couchsurfing. Hasan, offered to host me, but I chose to stay in a hotel for the first few nights.

The old part of Baghdad mixes tiny coffee bars, craft workshops, bookshops, rundown houses, and areas under renovation. It offers few traditional landmarks or tourist activities. Al-Mutanabbi and Al-Rashid Streets are the center of activity, where street vendors fill the pedestrian areas. Cars, buses, and other vehicles struggle to push through the heavy traffic jams.

At night, Hassan took me across the Tigris River, where I saw more upscale houses, businesses, restaurants, and shops.

Baghdad functions like a normal city with reinforced security. However, traveling north toward Samarra, I quickly noticed that security checkpoints operate at another level. Heavily armed soldiers stopped our minivan every few kilometers. Most of the time, a few words from our driver were enough to get us through, until I was pulled out of the car and held at the last checkpoint before Samarra.

I was not allowed to continue by public transport without a police escort. Luckily, a car with tourists quickly appeared and offered me a ride to the old minaret of Samarra.

The Malwiya Mosque, built in the 9^th century and a UNESCO site, was once the largest mosque in the world. What remains of this landmark and is worth visiting is a spiraling, cone-shaped minaret rising 52 meters high.

I found climbing up not difficult at all. However, walking along the edge of the spiral ramp became psychologically challenging as I rose toward the top platform. An amazing 360-degree view of the city opened from the top.

The magic of Babylon is not only in its name, the Gate of Gods. It was also the capital of one of the most influential ancient empires, founded over 4,000 years ago. Local archeologist, Ali, guided me around, explained the historical events, and took some photos of me.

Babylon, in the heart of Mesopotamia and the cradle of civilization, shaped early concepts of governance, religion, and written expression.

The city rose to prominence during the reign of Hammurabi, the Mesopotamian king renowned for the world’s first written law.

Under Nebuchadnezzar II, the second and greatest king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, Babylon reached its peak of glory. It became most famous for the fabled Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders.

German archaeologists moved the original Ishtar Gate to a museum in Berlin. Saddam Hussein later rebuilt much of Babylon on top of its ancient ruins, including a smaller replica of the gate.

On the hill above Babylon, Saddam built a striking palace overlooking the reconstructed ancient city to link Iraq with its history. The palace became a command center during the 2003 war, but its walls were later vandalized and covered in graffiti.

While wandering around the palace, I met a group of young Iraqis who invited me to pose for a photo. That moment was a turning point in my Iraq travel adventure.

My new friends invited me to join them for lunch at a restaurant. Later, we visited the Tower of Babel and finished the day with dinner and tea by the Euphrates River.

While my new host, Karah, handled some business, I visited his friends’ house. Although most struggled with English, we had fun and I experienced local customs first hand.

I felt like a star: Rok here, Rok there, more food, another cup of tea, a few more photos. Suddenly, a security guard at the Tower of Babel pulled out a gun and handed it to me. He insisted that I pose with it for a photo. Well, I wanted an adventure in Iraq and I got it.

I stood with new Iraqi friends beside a thousand-year-old minaret, holding a gun and watching a beautiful sunset.

I didn’t know where I would sleep or eat, but I felt sure I would enjoy the experience and stay safe. And that happened throughout my entire trip in Iraq.

At that point in my Iraq travel adventure, I stopped planning what to see, where to stay, or what to do. A typical list of things to do or places to visit didn’t really apply anymore; each day just unfolded on its own. I trusted my activities to Karah, Aziz, Ibrahim, Sara, Abdullah, Izaldeen, Ali, and other new friends. They turned my visit to Iraq into a true highlight and one of the most unique experiences of my life.

Karbala is the place where Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Husayn, was killed during the battle in 680 AD. The Imam Husayn Shrine is the mosque and burial site of the third Imam of Islam, near the place where he was martyred.

The tomb of Husayn is one of the holiest sites in Islam outside of Mecca and Medina, attracting over 45 million pilgrims each year.

After dinner at Karah’s house, I finally visited the shrine just before midnight. . I was stunned by the golden domes and minarets and the colorful decorations. I didn’t expect to see so many people gathered at such a late hour. The atmosphere, reflecting the darkness, sadness, and devotion of visitors from all over the world, was magnificent.

The next morning, a larger crowd gathered around the mosque, and vendors offered more food and drinks.

Most of my Iraqi hosts were university-educated families with many children who spoke some English.

All houses and apartments follow the same principle for receiving visitors. The first room serves as a reception area, which becomes a living and dining space by day and a sleeping room at night, with an attached toilet. This area remains separate from the rest of the house, which I never accessed.

I only met male family members and never encountered mothers, sisters, or wives. They generally don’t meet men outside the family. Strange at first, but I got used to this cultural and religious practice across Iraq.

The only exception was my host Sara in Baghdad, an extremely well-educated, open-minded girl who spoke perfect English. Since she is married to an open-minded man and her brother opposes religious constraints in Iraq, there were fewer restrictions.

The Mesopotamian Marshes are a wetland area, located in Southern Iraq and Southwestern Iran. Historically, the marshlands formed the largest wetland ecosystem in Western Eurasia, fed mainly by the Tigris and its distributaries. They featured tall qasab reeds and included several freshwater lakes.

Today, they are also a tourist attraction, but they are not easy to access.

Many visitors take an organized tour. I didn’t want to pay for a tour, so I trusted Ibrahim, my host in Nasiriyah, to organize a trip the Iraqi way. His semi-hidden girlfriend Nur, his local friend Mohamed, and Mohamed’s son joined us.

We hired a boat and navigated the channels for an hour. We then stopped at a large reed dome that served as a mosque, meeting place, and restaurant for the local community. Invitation for a tea and a group photo was a compulsory part of the visit.

The rest of the day we docked on the shore, where we prepared masgouf (seasoned, grilled carp) on the improvised BBQ above open fire.

Dining on the carpet with local friends in beautiful nature and sharing heartfelt conversations is one of the most memorable highlights of my journey.

Ziggurat of Ur was a place of worship, dedicated to the moon god Nanna, in the Sumerian city of Ur in ancient Mesopotamia. This massive 4,100-year-old tiered shrine, lined with giant staircases, reminded me of the Egyptian pyramids. Unlike pyramids, ziggurats have terraced levels instead of flat walls. There are no interior chambers and they had temples at the top rather than tombs inside.

That day, Ibrahim, Nur, the driver and myself were the only visitors of the best-preserved structure of Mesopotamia, restored by King Nabonidus. The main reason for its excellent preservation is the location in dry area. I didn’t see much from the top. Still, I could easily imagine the ancient kingdom once spreading in every direction.

There are two ways to travel between Iraqi main cities: buses and shared-taxies. The latest are more convenient, since they fill-up faster, carry passengers directly and are more comfortable. However, I noticed that most drivers behaved crazily when overtaking vehicles in front of them.

The scariest experience I had, was on a shared-taxi from Nasiriyah to Baghdad.

I sat in the front seat of a comfortable Dodge and tried to ignore the driver’s reckless style. He drove at an average speed of 160 km/h and accelerated to 190 km/h whenever another car wanted to approach.

The wide but damaged road, combined with extreme speeding and slower traffic, could easily have ended in tragedy.

Mosul is for me one of the most special cities in Iraq. It may not have the historical importance of Babylon or Ur, but its recent past under the Islamic State left a deep impression on me and gave me enormous respect for the place.

My host Ali, his brother, and their friend Mohamed showed me the historical old town, guided me around, and explained the horrors of the captured city.

The occupation of Mosul by the Islamic State began when ISIS fighters took control of the city on the 10^th of June 2014. The brutal occupation of this important city in northern Iraq resulted in death, torture, rape and disappearance of many innocent citizens. Women faced strict Sharia law, while minorities were killed or expelled, and cultural, religious, and historical artifacts were destroyed.

Mosul was proclaimed the second capital of the Islamic State of Iraq (the first one being Raqqa in Syria). ISIS eventually declared its caliphate in Mosul, where cruelty, abuse, and soldiers’ madness reached some of the worst levels in recent history. The Iraqi government, supported by Kurdish Peshmerga forces, fully liberated Mosul on 21 July 2017 after intense battles.

The old town of Mosul was completely destroyed during the bombing that liberated it from the evil of Dash, as ISIS is called by locals.

Before entering the city, I saw kilometers of rubble that had been cleared and dumped there. Many NGOs helped rebuild Mosul and still support residents psychologically damaged by captivity, torture, or loss of loved ones. UNESCO is restoring the central square and nearby houses, while many young people work for international organizations providing help. The local government seems to struggle to provide enough support.

Before my Iraq travel adventure began, I heard many comments about Kurdistan’s beauty, safety, and hospitality. My expectations were high as I drove in a taxi from Mosul to the north. Soon, the Iraqi flag was replaced by a similar one with a yellow sun, checkpoints became more frequent, and Kurdish soldiers were not very welcoming.

“Welcome to Kurdistan. This is not Iraq. Here it is safe, not like in Iraq!” a serious immigration officer told me in broken English.

I was in Iraqi Kurdistan without a proper stamp in my passport. It is still technically the same country, but it felt like a completely different world.

There are over 45 million Kurds around the World, mostly in Turkey, Syria, Iran and only 6 million in an autonomous province of Iraqi Kurdistan.

Kurds suffered greatly under Saddam Hussein, including chemical attacks, torture, and persecution for political and cultural differences. Their suffering made them strong, but they remain distrustful and often see others as potential threats. I had the same feeling as in Israel.

The next day I visited Lalish, the holiest Yazidi temple, dating back about 4,000 years. Yazidis are expected to make a six-day pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime to visit the tomb of Şêx Adî. Most of estimated 400,000 to 800,000 Yazidis in the world are Kurdish speakers.

Yezidism is considered by its adherents to be the oldest religion in the world and the first truly monotheistic faith.

I knew I had to remove my shoes inside the temple and expected cold weather of about 5°C. What I did not expect was to find hardly any Yazidis at Lalish during my visit, and that the temple, while significant, would look rather unimpressive.

I wandered around in the cold, trying to justify my visit.

A local boy guided me through the main temple with black stones and fire altars, while I saw only earthenware and plain structures without decoration or artifacts. He warned me not to step on the thresholds, and I was not allowed into the underground area, where I heard flowing water.

After the visit, I was happy to put my shoes back on and waited for a lift. Eventually, a local contractor gave me a free ride in his truck back to the main road. We struggled to communicate in English until he suddenly began speaking it perfectly.

“a, b, c, d, …. x, w, z”

His pronunciation of alphabet was perfect, but he apparently missed other English lessons at school.

Duhok, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah are three big cities in Kurdistan. They are modern compared to other Iraqi cities I visited, but lack charisma, attractions, exciting places to visit and unique things to do, beyond the bazaar.

I met locals in Duhok, where women seemed more liberal than in the south, though some still wore full burqas. Mohamed, the owner of a local paragliding club, introduced me to his teammates. We had a late-night conversation about Greater Kurdistan and the role of the brave Peshmerga soldiers, who were the main force that helped clear Iraq of ISIS.

I realized how proud Kurds are of their identity, history, and connection with France since the 1980s, during Mitterrand’s presidency.

Traveling from Duhok to Erbil was the worst experience of my entire Iraq travel adventure.

Everything went smoothly until a checkpoint 30 kilometers before Erbil. During a routine check, the guards pulled me out of a shared taxi and inspected my passport and visa. The officer spoke only in Kurdish and pointed at my passport. I understood that I could not continue to Erbil and had to return to Duhok for a stamp or special travel permit.

No one could assist me with translation. The taxi driver was unhelpful, the soldiers ignored me, and I was taken back to the previous checkpoint just two kilometers away. I was left on the highway with confusing instructions to return to Duhok for a permit to continue to Erbil.

It was Friday – a day off!

All government offices were closed. I knew returning would be a waste of time without even knowing where or why. It must have been a misunderstanding by a stubborn officer who didn’t know there is no border stamp and that my Iraqi visa is also valid for Iraqi Kurdistan.

Eventually, I approached other soldiers, and one of them spoke solid English. He realized I understood the rules and advised me to avoid the problematic checkpoint by taking a southern route. He stopped a passing car and asked the driver to take me to a nearby taxi stand.

After a few minutes of negotiation, I agreed on a ride with a taxi driver and was happy to move again. We passed several checkpoints, while the driver tried to calm me down.

“I am Peshmerga soldier, no problem for you.”

We picked up three more people, and one of them used Google Translate to explain that he was a Peshmerga soldier still fighting ISIS in Mosul.

They showed me photos of their trophies – ISIS fighters they had killed or beheaded. There was no joking about it; it was part of their reality.

I couldn’t watch the photos, but I was extremely thankful he brought me directly to my hotel in Erbil without any questioning at the checkpoint.

I believed Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, was the best place to celebrate New Year’s Eve. With two backpackers and local hosts, we sat in a bar drinking soda and listening to music, Soon, we got bored watching groups of Kurdish men doing the same.

We visited a specialized store, bought some beers, and chatted late into the night about the Middle East’s present and future. Spanish, Russian, Syrian, Kurdish, and Slovenian opinions were shared, analyzed, and valued on that special evening.

“May the New Year just bring peace and prosperity to Iraq and relieve the World from Covid-19 in 2022!” were my wishes at the end of 2021.

My Iraq travel adventure was one of the most unique experiences of my life. It was memorable not only for the amazing places I visited and activities, but also for the unforgettable people and moments along the way.

Locals hosted me and opened their homes to me. They offered me a place to stay, food, and many hours of conversation about Iraq’s past, present, and future. I have never met so many people who treated me like family. They valued my opinion, protected me, and recommended me to their friends in my next destination.

Iraq will stay in my heart forever.

I hope the future will bring peace and calm to people that suffered so much in the last decades. First under Saddam Hussein’s regime, and later under the occupation of the Islamic State.