I recently spent 3 weeks in Iraq, both north and south. Some pertinent info and thoughts if you're looking to do the same.
Entry + visa - I entered Iraq through the land border with Kuwait which you, if you know about Kuwait, will not be surprised to learn was a fucking hassle. Internet says there's a public bus that runs to the border but there isn't, the only option is a taxi. I got to the border and learnt that I needed a green piece of paper from the ministry of interior authorising me to leave Kuwait to Iraq via land, and that I could only get it from the office back in the city. This wasted an entire day, as the office was closed by the time I got back to the city. I got it the next morning from the interior office next to the airport - it only took 5 minutes and didn't cost anything. Back at the border, crossing is fairly straight forward. The Iraqi side is underdeveloped and pretty dusty. Visa on arrival for all the good western passports is available at all ports of entry and cost me $77USD, and was issued surprisingly quickly. From the border town of Safwan, you'll probably take a cab to Basra. I went straight to Baghdad from the Basra taxi station, about a 6 hour drive. I imagine flying into Baghdad is far more straightforward.
Baghdad - a surprisingly nice city compared to what you may think. Much nicer than Cairo, I thought, and enough to keep you busy for up to a week, although 4 days would be fine. My favourite thing to do was strolling through Mutannabi street and the adjacent areas where the local craftsmen, book sellers, and antique dealers are. The mosques around this area are stunning and will give you a good sense of the distinct architectural style of Baghdad, i.e. intricate brickwork and blue and yellow domes. If you like modern stuff like malls, chic cafes etc then Mansour area is very nice. Museums, monuments, mosques (go to kadhimiya) and food are plentiful and will keep you busy.
Liquor shops are present and openly advertised. Women dress anywhere from jeans and tees to the full burqa. Careem works everywhere in Baghdad and is very convenient, as navigating the local minivans would be practically impossible without being a local. Traffic is standard developing-world-tier, frustrating but inevitable. Airbnbs are basically non-existent everywhere in Iraq and so I ended up staying in budget hotels. In Baghdad, the cheap ones (~25USD per night) can be found in the bataween area. Quality tends to be pretty shit, but if you just want a bed, it's fine. I stayed in Hotel Diwan. Baghdad feels safe enough and not tense, but keep your head on a swivel anyway. Standard precautions, don't walk late at night, dress conHispanicuously, speak a bit of arabic.
Karbala and Najaf - the two holjest Shia sites in Iraq, along with kadhimiya in Baghdad and Askari in Samarra. Both fairly well developed (relative to the region) due to the number of pilgrims. Go to either one first depending on your itinerary, and get there from the Al alawi south garage in Baghdad. You can take a bus or shared taxi, and the same for the next city. Hotel situation is much the same as above. 1-2 full days in each is appropriate, because all there really is to see are the shrines. Great places to learn about shia Islam and meet people from all over the world. People tend to be friendly here and strike up conversation, ask where you're from etc. No issue saying that you're not Muslim, just follow the customs that will be very evident and displayed on the entrances to the shrines. Shrines are open 24/7 and you can even sleep in them if you're so inclined.
Dress *inconHispanicuously, rather
>Great places to learn about shia Islam and meet people from all over the world
Seriously, who the fuck travels to Iraq? Is it mostly just other Muslims to see historical or religious sites?
It's mostly people traveling to work doing jobs the locals aren't educated to do, I think. I don't even think muslims go there to visit sites. Is there any cool archaeology OP?
Nah tons of Shia Muslims go to Karbala, Najaf, kadhimiya, and Samarra among other places for pilgrimage. They did so even when the war was on, as the south (Shia areas) remained relatively peaceful, Samarra being the exception. I met a british-pak guy in the shrine in Samarra who goes regularly, he told me a few years ago that Samarra was mental and that one time the bus in front of him got blown up.
Archaeology-wise, there's lots of stuff. I mentioned that Babylon was quite shit but idk if you're autistically interested in it I'm sure you'd get something out of it. There's also the Zigurrat of Ur near nasiriyah. Iraq is one of the oldest country's in the world, so there's tons of cool stuff.
Great thread OP, it reads like you've actually travelled somewhere, unique for this board
>my photos are all huge files and so i can't post them here without resizing, cbf now, maybe if this thread is still up in a few days
do it you cunt
People tend to be quite fair in Iraq and I didn't really experience anyone trying to charge me the standard yt prices, though this could be because lots of people assumed I'm Lebanese or because I can speak enough rubbish arabic to make any given vendor smile. The average Iraqi is very happy to welcome guests, though, and I had people offer to pay for my meals on several occasions when they learnt I was foreign.
Babylon - a day trip from karbala. Most disappointing thing I visited in Iraq tbh. Site was all but abandoned apart from one guard sitting on a plastic chair, and the entrance fee for foreigners is 25k dinars (~18USD), which is absurd for Iraq. Just a bunch of brick walls with no explanatory signage or context. Might as well have been waking in any given field. The blue gate is cool I suppose but isn't the original one, that's in Berlin. Worth going, though, to visit Saddam's palace that's on the hill overlooking the city.
Samarra - 2 hour shared taxi from Baghdad, Al alawi north garage. Samarra isn't controlled by the fed gov and is instead run by a Shia militia called the peace companies. You'll get stopped at the checkpoint before the entrance to the city and made to hand over your passport to them. Your shared taxi, presumably filled with locals, will be told to continue and you'll be kept at the checkpoint where they'll call some local driver and assign him to you for the day. Westerners aren't allowed to stay overnight in Samarra, and apparently the security situation is still quite tenuous there. It's a shithole anyway, the only two things to see are malwiya mosque, the big spiral minaret, and Askari shrine. Your assigned driver probably knows you're there to see them anyway and will take you there and back to the checkpoint where you'll collect your passport. Malwiya is cool, but again is 25k for yt. Askari is free, and worth seeing.
>Just a bunch of brick walls with no explanatory signage or context
I must have got lucky, when I went I had a guy show me around and give me a tour, didn't ask for a tip or anything I just thought that was standard
>Duhok is much nicer, I thought
I reckon Erbil is a lot nicer than dohuk, did you get the chance to go to sulaymaniah (imo the best city in Kurdistan) or out to the countryside?
Based
Mosul - one of the most surreal places I've ever seen. 5hr shared taxi from Baghdad north, again, or you could continue on from samarra I guess. There isn't a whole lot going on in mosul in the normal sense, but walking around the rubble of the old city is unreal, as is meeting locals and hearing their stories about life under Isis. See if you can co-ordinate permissions with UNESCO to visit Al Nuri mosque which is being reconstructed, as well as the church of the lady of the hour. I asked around at some of the other destroyed churches, and the construction guys were nice enough to let me in and wonder around. I stayed in hotel Al safer on the west side, which was very basic (squat toilet) but fine for 25k per night. The city feels quite sad, but the security presence is heavy and it's safe. Locals are happy to meet visitors and I got invited to the house of a guy who I met wondering around the destroyed areas. He told me stories of his relatives being killed by Isis and how his house was blown up. Definitely worth going, if you're interested in the recent history of Iraq.
Kurdistan - I was sick for most of the time I was here, unfortunately, but a bit of info. Your federal Iraq visa works to enter here, but not vice versa. Erbil is just ok. Very relaxed, safe, and relatively liberal. The citadel and surrounding bazaar is nice, but there's really not much else to do in the city. Duhok is much nicer, I thought, and allows for interesting day trips. I went to Lalish, the yazidi holy city, and it was fascinating. You can't wear shoes in the whole village, and the architecture is very distinct. They have these conical spires which supposedly absorb the sun, and the whole area is very pretty and mountainous. Can't say much else for Kurdistan unfortunately, due to illness.
Money - my Australian card worked in quite a few of the ATMs in Iraq. Some charged fees, some didn't. ATMs are surprisingly scarce though, particularly outside of Baghdad, so if you go to Mosul and Kurdistan, make sure you have sufficient cash. There are also shops that look like Forex places that can act as ATMs, they charge you with an EFTPOS machine and then give you cash. I had mixed success with my card working at these places, though.
Food - typical arab fare, which is to say pretty good. Meat, bread, pickles, hummus, falafel etc. Iraqi shish kebabs are the best I've had anywhere in the world. Shawarma places and other local fast food is ubiquitous on every corner. Try the classic Iraqi roast fish called masgoof. There are also street carts selling boiled chickpeas called 'leblebi' and boiled beets which are a great snack. Karbala and Najaf are also famous for their coconut oil sweets called daheen, which are sickly.
I think that's it for now. Definitely recommend a visit.
Oh, and basra. I flew to Basra from Erbil for the final of the gulf Arab cup football. Got caught in a crowd crush where a dozen people ended up dying because ppl without tickets stormed the gates. Had to bribe my way into the stadium even though I had a ticket. People hanging off the railing and stuff, three to a seat, had a guy literally sitting on my shoulders with his legs dangling. Probably 110k in a 65k capacity stadium. Clearly uncomfortable, but a mental experience that you couldn't really get in many other places, and Iraq ended up winning in an insanely dramatic match, so it was worth it. Basra itself has some interesting stuff by the water, like Saddam's old yacht that's sinking. Didn't stay for too long otherwise though, so can't recommend much else there.
Where to Cooom in Irag?
thanks from mexico
Awesome post OP. I've been looking into Iraq for little bit now and I really want to go. Do you know how they feel about Americans?
>Do you know how they feel about Americans?
why are you fuckers bound to ask this shitty question every single fucking time? no matter where it is, anywhere there's anything about traveling to x country some retarded american idiot asks "uhhhhh how do they feel about muh freedoms?" as if you're some special snowflake people must care about in some way, you never see tourists from other countries asking this kind of shit so ubiquitously
is it the cnn memes about bearded people burning american flags during protests or something?
people don't care, america is a country that is more or less looked up to all over the world, at most you'll get some curiosity about what life there is like, unless it's some outlier like someone who got raped by american soldiers they'll treat you from ok to good, if you didn't guess this applies to every fucking country in the world, including "enemy" countries like russia or china
stop asking this retarded question every chance you get
You gotta give it to them, their government does like to meddle in random countries, so they have to be sure that there won't be any hard feelings towards them.
Lol, don't be so sensitive
I don't ever ask this question but it's actually relevant here. Since you know we kind of fucked their country for 7 years. They actually have good reason to hate us
So... that's a 'they don't like Americans' I assume. Typical. Thanks anyway
>So... that's a 'they don't like Americans' I assume. Typical. Thanks anyway
not op, but i sense you find a lot of hostility when you're abroad and have attributed this to being American and the impact of American policies across the world.
I can help you with this. While you're government hasn't helped its true, the real reason you attract this hostility is because you - individually - are a fucking arsehole.
in the future you can ask "how do they feel about assholes..." it will be more useful info for you.
>retard is unaware of how American """foreign policy""" has cucked many nations--sometimes more than once
They only murdered around 1 million people and ruined their country in the name of Israel.
If Iraqis had any decency they would hunt Americans in the streets for their israelitery.
>They only murdered around 1 million people
LMAO do you actually believe this?
>no matter where it is
You can't be this retarded
It's because their country bombed out or committed war crimes in vast swathes of the world and they don't want to end up on liveleak.
American is the default assumption when ppl see a white foreigner walking around anyway, and no one will really care. Obviously if the topic of the war comes up just speak in general negative terms about the invasion and move to another topic. There are mixed feelings towards America's involvement in the country which vary based on religion, sect, age, and location. Kurds tend to be considerably more pro American. Iraq's religious dynamic is something to keep in mind too; the Muslims are about half and half Sunni and Shia, with the Shias in the south and Sunnis in the north. Shias tens to be a little more pro American because the yanks killed saddam who was fucking with them and installed a Shia government. Anyway, general common sense re. Politics and religion and you'll be fine.
Nice posts, they strike a balance in regards to the fearmongering on travel guide pages like WikiTravel/Voyage.
how about sexo?
possible to flert with some qt arab womän?
possible to fuck one?
or only prostitutes? are there even prostitues?
>Flert
All fields
how about sexo?
is it possible to flert with some qt arab womän?
possible to sleep with them?
or only for money - or is that even possible?
finally an interesting travel report that isn't the same old places in europe/SEA
OP, do you have pics of Najaf and Karbala? I want to go there.
Why in the actual fuck did you travel to iraq?
Even Egypt is a nightmare to travel to these days.
Morocco is also a shithole.
OP here, I've spent considerable time in Egypt as well and, no word of a meme, Iraq was easier to travel around by a decent amount. Baghdad is actually nicer than Cairo. Morocco I don't really care for because I hate being treated like a walking ATM.
Where are the pics? Come on man, your descriptions are ok but lets see some things.
no pictures?
my photos are all huge files and so i can't post them here without resizing, cbf now, maybe if this thread is still up in a few days
just take screenshots of them
In another thread somebody suggested screenshotting your own photos to quickly reduce their size.
You could do that and then post some selected HQ ones if the thread is still up later on.
right click - open with paint - save as - jpg
works 99% of the time
Thanks for the info OP, finally a post that isn’t a coomer thread and useful for once. I’m heading to Iraq myself next month (mostly the southern parts because I’m big into archaeology). Do you know how easy it is getting into some not too popular ancient ruins? By taxi or chatting up with some local in Baghdad to take me over if I hand him enough USD.
My main question is the following: how “secure” is Baghdad airport in terms of customs. I managed to smuggle a few shards of pottery and other items I excavated from Lebanon not too long ago and had no issues. I’m thinking of doing the same in Iraq if I find anything neat (not a 10lb clay tablet or a bull head, but something small that can fit in the palm of my hand if I find anything).
If they catch me at the airport I’ll just tell them I purchased it in some store in some village and claim the seller told me it was a replica of some coin/store work (like the ones they sell in Rome or Greece). Hell, I might attach it to some leather string and tie it around my neck to make it seem like some tacky tourist souvenir.
Think I can get away with it? Or will I be fucked and end up raped in an Iraq prison like that Brit not too long ago for having 30 shards of pottery on his carry on luggage. Obviously I’ll only take 2-3 pieces.
interesting. don't know about this kind of thing honestly, and i didn't fly into or out of baghdad airport so i can't speak to the security. i would be very, very surprised though if they searched deep enough to find anything like what you described. go for it.
Baghdad airport is a fucking process, they search your bag about 7 times between getting to the outskirts of the airport and getting on your plane
However generally they're looking for explosives not small pieces of rock and so you might be ok
That being said, don't do it anyway
OP mentioned booze being easily available, it should be noted just a couple of days ago a law was passed banning alcohol, I don't know if it will be enforced or whether it's just for the Arab areas but it's something to keep in mind
post the pictures ffs
How was the nightscene in Baghdad?
BTW, great thread.
post photos
Sounds good OP. Gives me inspiration to visit Syria
Are you from Western Sydney orginally or Northern parts of Melbourne?
nah, perth.
if you look anything at all like any kind of arab then locals will just assume you are until you start speaking, since seeing foreigners are unusual. i can probably pass as lebanese quite well though due to my nose and facial hair. literally just grow your beard and dress local and you'll be fine.
>it should be noted just a couple of days ago a law was passed banning alc
yeah just saw this, weird. don't know what will happen to all the liquor shops, they'll probably just operate secretly
as above, just don't run your mouth and no one will really care about you. tons of arabs are very white, incl. syrians lebs and palestinians so it's not unusual to see white people. i'm very pale myself and no one looks twice at me. arabic-wise, there's no blending in unless you're a native speaker. even with the average amount of arabic that i speak, it's very obvious i'm not arab as soon as i open my mouth because my accent gives me away. it's not a problem though, iraqis are welcoming to foreigners.
>Great thread OP, it reads like you've actually travelled somewhere, unique for this board
thanks fren. i'll be going back to afghanistan soon too, i was there last year for 5 weeks and posted a thread here about it too. a far more difficult trip than iraq if you're not on some package tour. i speak pashto though.
>i speak pashto though.
Are you a spook or a muzzie?
neither, though everyone assumes i'm a spook which is understandable i guess. not a usual language to speak for yt
there were bars and liquor shops when i was there in jan this year, though apparently they've just banned alcohol completely so i have no idea now. tinder is typical muslim-country fare, all the profiles with random pictures or girls with their faces covered who are shy and don't reply. wouldn't bother, head out to mansoor or something and try chatting someone up. lots of cheap gyms, bodybuilding is popular
>i speak pashto though.
Didn't know Rory Stewart posted here
Nice effortposting OP.
I assume from your writtings that you could pass for a local. Do you have any advice for us pasty fucks whose Arabic begins and ends with Allah Akubar?
Haven't heard from the antiques guy in a while. Do you think he's in prison, being used as a woman by a local ISIS cell?
1. Are there bars there? How much? What's it like?
2. How is tinder?
3. Are there gyms? How much?