Baghdad : Before the war

Overview

Quote:

Baghdad is huge. The center was in quite bad shape the time of my visit, but there is still plenty to see as far as historic sites go.

Quick Tips:

August is hell as far as temperatures are concerned. 55°C and more. It is very good to wake up very early, like 6'o clock in the morning. A room with aircon is also a must.

Best Way To Get Around:

The city is very big, so it is much better to take taxis. When we were there they were really cheap, about 0.5 US to go anywhere dowtown

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Maarsgourf Restaurant

Restaurant

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Next to the Tigris river, you have plenty of restaurants offering Maarsgourf. This local dish is a fish caught in the river and cocked on a fire. The restaurants are outside, and the location next to the river make them a very pleasant place to eat.

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on June 5, 2003

Maarsgourf Restaurant
By the Tigris River
Baghdad, Iraq

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National Museum of Iraq

Attraction | "The archeology museum"

Quote:

At the time I visited the museum, it was filled with archeological artifacts coming from every corner fo the country. The huge sculptures coming from Ninive and Nimrut, two Assyrian sites, depicted Winged Bull as well as pictures of daily life. Other interesting artifacts included greek alike sculpture coming from the Partan city of Hatra. I am wondering how it looks now but at the time I saw it it was a very interesting museum as it allowed us to see pieces from all the sites we had been to.

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on June 5, 2003

National Museum of Iraq

Baghdad, Iraq

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The main bazar

Attraction

Quote:

The main bazaar in Baghhad offers a large display of goods coming from all over the country. The spice corner is especially beautiful. At the time we were there, the people were very friendly, showing us around and asking us to take pictures of them. Around the bazaar is a caravanserail, an abandoned medersa(Coranic school), and a few mosque. The only sad part was the fact that most of the historic houses had been abandoned or at least seemed abandoned, and were quite runed down. Baghdad must have been very beautiful before the first Gulf War.

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on June 5, 2003

The main bazar
City center
Baghdad, Iraq

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National Museum of Iraq

Attraction | "The history museum"

Quote:

This museum is located next to the medersa, in the city center. The place left us a bad feeling, especially because it has many exemples of the damages of war. A sad exhibition shows models of public building before and after the bombing. To talk with the guard was also very informative as he had fought in Kuweit. Overall the museum is very interesting if you want to know more about what has happened in the country for the past 10 years.

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on June 5, 2003

National Museum of Iraq

Baghdad, Iraq

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The ancient city of Babylon

Attraction | "The ancien city of Babylon"

Quote:

The ancient city of Babylon is located at about 100 km of Baghdad. At the time I was there, the only possible way to get there was to rent a taxi for half a day (about 10$) and it is about a one-hour ride. The archaeological site itself is very interesting not because it displays rare artefacts but because most of it was rebuilt by Saddam Hussein 12 years ago. The site is actually new, with a fake gate of Ishtar (The real one is in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin), and fake palaces built 1990. The only "real" thing is the lion statue that is a bit outside the palace of Nabuchodonosor. When the site was discovered, most of the interesting artefacts where taken by the German archaeologists and ver...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on June 13, 2003

The ancient city of Babylon
Babylon
Baghdad, Iraq

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Baghdad Journals

Baghdad : Before the war