Destination Overview
Iraq is arguably the most dangerous country in the world, to say
that travel there is 'ill-advised' would be an understatement when
trained military combatants from the United States and other
coalition forces are having a hard time staying alive there. When
the smoke does eventually clear from this war-torn nation though,
it might (depending on what survives the war) have many a wonder to
reveal.Iraq is a veritable gold mine of archaeological wealth. It was
once the home of Ancient Mesopotamia, the capital of which,
Babylon, was situated on the modern site of Al-Hillah on the east
of the Euphrates River. The ruins of this ancient city, where the
infamous Hanging Gardens of Babylon once existed, were treated as
sacred palaces to Saddam Hussein during his reign and today are
host to coalition forces and their often tasteless graffiti. In
Baghdad, the remains of the Ishtar temple, the Ancient Theatre and
the Babylon Tower (all precious Mesopotamian sites) are slowly
being eroded by bombing and fighting in the city, much to the
chagrin of archaeologists the world over.The capital of Baghdad was a learning centre and focal point of
the Middle East silk trade. The history of the three Mesopotamian
civilisations that conquered the land; the Assyrians, the
Babylonians and the Achaemenids is captured in the Baghdad Museum,
which suffered some looting at the onset of the 2003 invasion but
is now under the protection of the US military. To the south of
Baghdad, near Nasiriyah is one of the few landmarks left untouched
by the invasion so far, the Great Ziggurat of Ur. Built over 4,000
years ago as a platform onto which the gods could descend from the
heavens, the strange stone temple is built on a trapezoid base and
overlooks the ancient tombs of long gone Mesopotamian leaders.Currently the only way to travel with a modicum of safety in
Iraq is with an armoured army convoy. Again, it is emphatically
advised that you don't travel there at all.
