Places to visit in Iraq

---

The al-Shaheed Monument, also known as the Martyr's Memorial, is a monument in the Iraqi capital Baghdad dedicated to the Iraqi soldiers who died in the Iran-Iraq war. The Monument was opened in 1983.

The aesthetic of this monument is represented in the visual deception of these two domes, where the person coming from the beginning of the street sees that the two domes look like one closed dome, and as we get closer, it begins to gradually split into two halves, marking the exit of something, which is the Iraqi flag that rises to the top.  The two domes are located on a circular platform with a diameter of 190 meters, and below it there is a museum. The height of the two domes is 40 meters, and it occupies a spacious area of ​​about 42 hectares.

The archaeological city of Samarra in Iraq offers a close look at life under the Abbasid caliphate, the major Islamic empire which ruled large swathes of North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia between the 8th and 13th centuries. The Great Mosque of Samarra, built-in 851, was the world's largest mosque at the time of construction. Its unusual and iconic spiral minaret remains mostly intact, standing at 52 meters tall.

The archaeological site of Babylon is located 85 km south of Baghdad. It consists of the ruins of the city that was, between 626 and 539 BC, the center of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, along with several villages and agricultural areas surrounding the old city. These monuments - inner and outer city

walls, gates, palaces, and temples - offer a unique testimony to one of the most

influential empires in the ancient world.

Babylon was the seat of several

successive empires, led by rulers such as Hammurabi or King Nebuchadnezzar.

Babylon embodies the creativity of the neo- Babylonian Empire at its height. The city's association with one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - the Hanging Gardens of Babylon - had an impact on forms of artistic, popular, and religious culture worldwide.

The holy city of Karbala is 100 km away from Baghdad and it holds

the shrine of Imam Hussein which is a mosque and a burial site of

the third Imam of Shia Islam and his brother.

The Tomb is considered the holiest site after Mecca and Millions of

muslims make pilgrimages to Karbala every year in the time that

marks the commemoration of Hussein's death.

The site is always busy with people from all over the world, the

shine itself has golden domes and gates that have its unique design

and a roof with millions of glass decorations that gives the visitor a

unique spiritual experience.

The ziggurat is the most distinctive

the architectural invention of the Ancient Near East. Like an ancient Egyptian pyramid, an ancient Near Eastern ziggurat has four sides and rises to the realm of the gods. However, unlike Egyptian pyramids, the exterior of Ziggurats was not smooth but tiered to accommodate the work which took

place at the structure as well as the

administrative oversight and religious rituals essential to Ancient Near Eastern cities.

A UNESCO world heritage site since 2016 and the former capital of Mesopotamia during the Sumerian time and the place where Ibraham was likely born. Ur was a major Sumerian urban center on the Mesopotamian plain. In the 21st century BC King Ur-Nammu united the cities of Sumer under his rule and formed a strong wealthy dynasty that made Ur the political and economic power of Mesopotamia. The site includes the Great Ziggurat of Ur, Abraham House, Sholgi Palace, and the oldest arch of its kind at the entrance of the Dub-Lal-Makh Temple.

It is also known locally as the Chibayish Marshes، it is a group of water bodies that cover the lowlands located in the south of the Iraqi alluvial plain, and they are in the form of a

triangle, the cities of Nasiriyah and Basra are located on its heads.

The marshlands used to be the largest wetland ecosystem in Western Eurasia, representing a rare aquatic landscape in the desert and providing a habitat for important populations of wildlife.

There you'll see the traditional reed houses and the Madheef which is the guest house where members of the tribes gather to socialize and settle disputes. There you can ride a boat through the reeds and the buffalos and meet the marsh arabs.

Uruk was one of the most important cities (at one time, the most important) in ancient Mesopotamia. According to the Sumerian King List, it was founded by King Enmerkar c. 4500 BCE. Uruk is best known as the birthplace of writing c. 3200 BCE as well as for its architecture and other cultural innovations.

It is considered the first true city in the world, the origin of writing, the first example of architectural work in stone and the building of great stone structures, the origin of the ziggurat and the first city to develop the cylinder seal which the ancient Mesopotamians used to designate personal property or as a signature on documents.

One of the largest cities in Iraq and the most diverse too. Its history goes back thousands of years when the Assyrians built their capitals in Nineveh Plain. Mosul also has Christian Syriac churches where Pope Frances held mass. Also there you can find Mosul's castle to see the lookout over the Tigris River and the city. The city has amazing food and culture and of course a rich history. 

Unfortunately, Mosul was occupied by ISIS in 2014 causing the city's destruction, the famous city was liberated by the Iraqi army in 2018 and now it's being rebuilt. You can visit the damaged old town where you will see the famous Al Hadbaa migration and the  Al Nuri mosque being reconstructed.

Hatra was founded in the 3rd or 2nd century BCE, under the Seleucid kingdom, It rose to prominence as the capital of Araba, a small semiautonomous state under Parthian influence. Because of its strategic position along caravan trade routes, the town prospered and became an important religious center. In the 1st and 2nd centuries CE Hatra was ruled by a dynasty of Arabian princes whose written language was Aramaic, and it became known as Beit ʾElāhāʾ (“House of God”), a reference to the city’s numerous temples. Among the gods honored was the Sumero-Akkadian god Nergal ) Hermes  (Greek), along with Shamash, the Mesopotamian sun god.

A large fortified city under the influence of the Parthian Empire and capital of the first Arab Kingdom, Hatra withstood invasions by the Romans in A.D. 116 and 198 thanks to its high, thick walls reinforced by towers. The remains of the city, especially the temples where Hellenistic and Roman architecture blend with Eastern decorative features, attest to the greatness of its civilization.