Climbing the scary spiral minaret of Abu dulaf.
Since the minaret in Samarra was closed, climbing the second-best Abu Dulaf was scary enough. Then, in the evening, calm down in ancient Hatra. On this day of our trip through Iraq and Kurdistan, we would visit three well-known places. The first is the spiral minaret of Samarra, which, unfortunately, was closed to the public. Then, we could climb the “second-best” minaret of Abu Dulaf. By sunset, we arrived at the ancient city of Hatra. Both Samarra and Hatra are on UNESCO heritage lists.
The Great Mosque of Samarra
The Congregational Mosque in Samarra is a mosque from the 9th century. At the time of construction, it was the world’s largest mosque. It is known for its 52-metre-high minaret encircled by a spiral ramp. The mosque is located within the Samarra Archaeological City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As several times before on this trip, the most prominent attraction was closed to the public due to maintenance.
Today, the remains of the Malwiya Mosque are mostly the outer walls and the bases of the columns for the roof. I learned about it after watching BBC’s Micael Palins’ Iraq. At that time, the minaret was open to the public, and we could watch him climb to the top. At least he had a handrail along the wall. I was a bit disappointed that we could not climb it.
Abu Dulaf
After about 20 minutes from Samarra, in a desert environment, these constructions appeared: a leftover wall from a mosque and what they call a spiral minaret. Even though we are told it is not a minaret, it is more of a spiral walk path to a platform you can climb to get closer to God. This one is not as high as the one in Samarra, which we were not allowed to climb, but I can tell you, it was more than high enough!
A scary climb
Even though the tower is only 32 meters high, it is more than high enough when no handrail is on the outside or along the wall. Four people were up on the top when we arrived, so we waited until they came down. Eventually, it became our turn. We took in groups because when you came about halfway up, the walking path was so narrow that it would have been dangerous to pass each other. Some in my group did not want to go all the way, so they only walked halfway, got some pictures taken, and came down again.
No going back
I have some fear for rights, but I am also determined to try something I know I will probably only experience once. One in our group was growling on his knees the last circle on the way up, while another, age seventy-eight, walked like a walk in the park. So, there are considerable differences in how we react to height. When you reach the third circle on the way up, it gets pretty windy, and the path gets narrower and narrower. I have to say that I did not feel comfortable clinging to the wall during the last circle. But hey, I made it and survived to tell the story!
The temple of Hatra
The city’s ruins are considered the richest archaeological site from the Parthian Empire known to date. Hatra was a strongly fortified caravan city and capital of the tiny Arab Kingdom of Hatra; it flourished in the 2nd century and was destroyed and deserted in the 3rd century. Its ruins were discovered in the 19th century. We arrived here just before sunset, and a professor told us the Temples’ story.
Like the Taliban in Afghanistan, ISIS also took on the duty to ruin old archaeological sites and religious symbols that do not refer to their Muslim faith. This also happened in Hatra, which was in the middle of the territory that ISIS controlled during the war. On this wall, you can see some graffiti written on the walls. It says there is only one God; however, our guide said it is misspelt, so they think that is fun and symbolises their ignorance.
Many kingdoms
During our time in Iraq and my other trips to the Middle East, I have learned that so many cultures and kingdoms appear and disappear again throughout history. I guess this is the destiny of time. One day, even Norwegians will be just a footnote in the history of time. And what little I see and experience is even less important. But I can not stop travelling because of that. I will carry on and learn more, more, more.
