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Samarra, on the East bank of the Tigris-river, 65 miles North of Baghdad, served in between 836 A.D. and 892 A.D. as the Capital of the Abbasids and the Calif settled in it during that period. The famous, 53 meters tall Malwiya (spiral minaret) is a part of the Great Mosque of Samarra. |
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In Kerbela. |
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Euphrates river, seen from a bridge, carrying the main road Bagdad - Amman. |
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One of the numerous sand-twisters, which shoves calmly through the deserts on hot days (50+ degrees centigrade!). Also nature applies vacuum cleaners! |
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Palmtrees in the South in July bear heavy clusters of dates. August is the month of harvest. It is said the Iraq counts no less than 200 different kinds of dates. They are used in countless dishes, and also in Iraqi Arak, the popular booze (40+ % of alcohol!) |
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Peeking into the coutyard of a Mosque (where? Kerbela? I forgot!) |
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The bus that transported our expedition through the country contained this cool-box, apparently one of the good leftovers of the UNSCOM-team in Iraq. Great quality! |