Iraq » Top Things To Do
Top Things To Do
The Iraq National Museum re-opened with great fanfare in 2009 and is one of the top attractions in Baghdad. The wealth of archaeological artefacts brings the ancient world of the Babylon to life.
Baghdad Bazaars
After being a no-go area for some years, the famous city bazaars have started to come to life again. Head to the colourful bird market Souk al-Ghazal where pigeon fanciers, a popular pastime in Baghdad, buy birds, exchange tips and relax at local cafés.
Kerbala
Join the pilgrims travelling to Kerbala, 100 km south of Baghdad. It's the spiritual home of Shi'ia Muslims who make pilgrimages to the impressive mosque housing the shrine of Hussein.
Najaf
Najaf, 160 km south of Baghdad, is another of the Shi'ia holy cities and famous for the mosque of Al-Haidariya, crowned with a resplendent golden dome made of gold tiles and minarets each made of 40,000 gold tiles.
The Marshes
The Marshes are situated along the Shatt El-Arab waterway and are best explored by boat to experience the locals who live on man-made islands in beautiful dwellings woven in lattice-work from reeds.
Basra
Visit Basra, once called the Venice of the East, thanks to its canals lined with elegant 19th-century houses. Have a stroll on the lush island across from the Shatt Al-Arab Hotel where families picnic Basra remains the main seaport for large commercial ships and tankers as well as traditional dhows.
Mosul
Mosul is the site of the ruined city of Nineveh and many pre-Islamic artifacts can be found in the Mosul Museum. Wander through the old city and explore mosques, churches and castles. The centre of town is famous for narrow streets of beautiful 19th century houses.
Erbil
Erbil is the capital and seat of the Kurdistan Regional Government on Northern Iraq. Walk around sprawling citadel, you will be treading in the footsteps of Alexander the Great who defeated Darius
Kurdish Mountain Resorts
The foothills and mountains ring every town in Iraqi Kurdistan and in the spring and summer they are cool and beautiful places to escape the heat and dust of the towns.
See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.
Note: In the aftermath of the 2003 war, there may be damage to any of the above sites and buildings. Lootings led to the disappearance of many of the archaeological treasures and manuscripts from Iraq's museums. At present, travellers are not advised to visit Iraq due to its highly dangerous security situation.
Disclaimer:
Content in the country guide is updated every 3 months and is to the best of our knowledge accurate and up-to-date. The information contained is intended as a general guide - any opinions or travel advise expressed are not necessarily those of AME Info FZ LLC.
The information is provided in association with Columbus Travel Publishing Limited and my not be republished or reproduced in anyway without the prior written consent by the publisher.
All information made available from within this product is provided without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to, any warranties as to merchantability, non-infringement or fitness for a particular purpose. We accept no responsibility for any loss, injury or inconvenience sustained by any person resulting from this information.
AME Info FZ LLC or Columbus Travel Publishing Limited shall not be liable for any technical, editorial or typographical or other errors or omissions within the information accessible through this product.
Whilst changes are periodically made to the information herein AMEinfo.com FZ LLC or Columbus Publishing Limited does not warrant that information currently accessible is either up-to-date or accurate.
All product names mentioned herein are subject to the trademarks and/or trademark rights of their respective owners.
3D Animated Flags used in this section is courtesy of www.3DFlags.com
Please contact us if you have any questions or corrections to the content in this section.
Information in this section was last updated: Wed May 23 2012
