iraq, located in the "mesopotamia" area of the rivers euphrat and tigris, is a politically created country, in 1920, after the collapse of the ottoman empire. it is a crucial place because mesopotamia was the cradle of civilisation. from about 3500 b.c., the sumerian, assyrian and babylonian realms florished there. crucial inventions, above all, writing and wagons with weels, occurred. iraq is now a muslim country, the population is 38 mio, and the capital baghdad. since about 2000, many wars have taken place in this country. the north-eastern part, kurdistan, is semi-independent. i have visited iraq twice, 1978 and 2012. however, in 1978 no digital pic's were taken, and the ones from 2012 are not yet prepared for galleries. therefore only five images will be presented below.
arbil - its historic castle and some current shops
the eminent sculpture of (possibly) king sargon, 2300 b.c. - in the baghdad museum
two models of the (long gone) city of babylon - the location of the babylon tower
this here is all what i saw - just ruins ruins...
