Iraq, with a people trying to rise again

Iraq has had more war and struggle than most countries. After years of dictatorship, neighbouring wars and inventions led to a civil war. This is about what most people know about Iraq. Most countries’ Ministries of Foreign Affairs will advise against travelling there. The same goes for Norway. As we all know, journalists are only interested if some terror or kidnapping happens. Otherwise, they are not present. I felt much safer after dark in Baghdad than what I have done in New York. However, no Western government has ever advised people not to go to the United States.

Not a political post

This is not going to be a political post. I have far too little knowledge of politics, and my blog is primarily a travel blog. But it is difficult to talk about Iraq without touching on some of the unfortunate things that have happened to these people, both from abroad and also between themselves. Even though I have travelled to countries we are advised not to travel to, and, I had my experience in Afghanistan. Still, I will not stop travelling to these places; after all, civilisation started in this part of the world.

Upcoming posts that will deal with Iraq and Kurdistan

• Baghdad
• Babylon and Saddams Palace
• Karbala
• Ur and the Marshes
• Samarra and Hatra
• Yasidies and Lalish
• Mosul
• Erbil

Against the Compass

This was my third trip with this company—the first one to Syria, number two to Afghanistan, and now Iraq and Kurdistan. As you can see on the destinations, it is to countries that most travel companies will not go to. As readers of my blog know, I travel alone, but in certain countries, it feels safer to travel with a group. It also brings you to places you probably would have a problem visiting alone. The other main reason for joining a group like this is to meet like-minded people who also like this kind of travelling. This trip and group were no exception.

Big contrasts

On this trip, we saw everything from the worst bombed cities, like Mosul, to one of the most religious places on earth, Karbala. We were in the Marses and visited buildings built over 4000 years ago. We attended a festival with the Yasidi people and met Saddam Hussein’s private chef. The days were so full of impressions that it was only when I came home and started writing about them that everything I had experienced came to mind.

Saddams chef

We were invited to breakfast in a private home in the small village of Bahzani. The host was a former chef for Saddam Hussain. He worked for Saddam for several years and travelled with him to his palaces. You will see pictures from one of his palaces in a later post. This man is a Syrian Orthodox Christian, and he could tell that most of Saddam’s staff were Christians. He said Saddam was generous and even gave him a house. Bahzabi is a mixed village of Christians and Yazidis. I will also write more about them in a later post.

Making a statement

We were told several stories and saw many results of Saddam Hussains need to build a legacy. One of them was not a very long drive from Baghdad. He had this building erected and called the Panorama of Ctesiphon. Today, the whole building is just a shell, but once, it had big drawings of the battle from 637. Outside was a swimming pool and a theme park for people to come and have a good time. It is all gone today, but climbing the stairs and looking over Taq Kasra’s remains is possible.

Taq-e Kasra

Taq-e Kasra is the remains of a Persian monument, dated to c. the 3rd to 6th centuries, sometimes called the Arch of Ctesiphon. It was the facade of the main palace in Ctesiphon and is the only visible remaining structure of the ancient capital city. The archway is considered a landmark in the history of architecture and is the world’s second-largest single-span vault of unreinforced brickwork.

Saddam’s purpose in building the Panorama was just after the Iraq-Iran war. This war had no winners, and that was, of course, a disappointment for Saddam. However, the Arabs had won over the Persians in 637, and Taq-e Kasra was the remainder of the loss for Persia (now the Iranians). So Saddam built this monument higher so he could “look down” on the ruins to remind himself and the Iraqi people that they had won once upon a time.

I hope this post gave you a short introduction to Iraq and several upcoming posts. I hope you will follow me on the trip!