A country · 59 places · 11 regions

Iraq, all of it.

59 curated places across 11 regions — photographed, mapped, and noted with the season each is best in.

Great Mosque of Samarra · via Wikimedia Commons

The 4 biggest regions — Baghdad Governorate, Dhi Qar Governorate, Duhok Governorate and Saladin Governorate — read below as chapters, with 7 more waiting past them.

Chapter I · Baghdad Governorate · 13 places

Baghdad Governorate

The Baghdad Zoo, set within the grounds of Al-Zawra Park, is one of the largest zoological gardens in the Middle East and a longstanding family destination in the Iraqi capital. Once badly depleted, it was rebuilt and restocked over subsequent years and now houses a range of mammals, birds, and reptiles across its enclosures. Paths wind between animal habitats, picnic lawns, and the wider park attractions. Visitors can spend a relaxed day among the collection and the crowds of families who fill the grounds on weekends.

Baghdad Zoo

Baghdad Governorate, Iraq

✦ October–April · $

Ctesiphon

Baghdad Governorate, Iraq

✦ November to March · $

Al-Shaheed Monument

Baghdad Governorate, Iraq

✦ October–April · $

All 13 places in Baghdad Governorate →

via Wikimedia Commons

Chapter II · Dhi Qar Governorate · 4 places

Dhi Qar Governorate

The Ziggurat of Ur is a massive stepped platform of mud brick raised in the third millennium BC as the temple base of the moon god in the Sumerian city of Ur. Partly reconstructed in the twentieth century, its lower stage and monumental triple staircase rise sharply from the desert plain, suggesting the terraced tower that once stood above. It ranks among the best-preserved structures of ancient Mesopotamia. Visitors can climb the restored steps to survey the ruined city and one of civilization's earliest monuments.

✦ October–April · $

Meet Ziggurat of Ur All 4 places in Dhi Qar Governorate →

Chapter III · Duhok Governorate · 4 places

Duhok Governorate

An ancient town perched on a flat-topped mesa in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan, its houses ringing the plateau edge. Steep cliffs and a single carved gateway have long guarded the summit settlement.

Amadiya

Duhok Governorate, Iraq

✦ April to June · $

Delal Bridge

Duhok Governorate, Iraq

✦ April–June, September–October · $

Akre

Duhok Governorate, Iraq

✦ spring

All 4 places in Duhok Governorate →

via Wikimedia Commons

Chapter IV · Saladin Governorate · 4 places

Saladin Governorate

The Great Mosque of Samarra was once among the largest mosques in the world, built in the ninth century when the city served as the Abbasid capital. Little remains of the vast prayer hall, but its enclosing brick wall with rounded towers still stands, framing a rectangle of enormous scale. Beside it rises the celebrated spiral minaret, a conical brick tower wound by an external ramp climbing to a small platform. Visitors can walk the great enclosure and ascend a structure central to early Islamic architecture.

✦ October–April · $

Meet Great Mosque of Samarra All 4 places in Saladin Governorate →