इराक – आवारा मुसाफिर

Iraq’s ancient sites, fragile stability spur new trickle of tourists

July 11, 2023814 Views

When Jacob Nemec's family heard he was planning to go on holiday in Iraq, they pleaded with the 28-year-old American to reconsider. "I got a text from my grandma for the first time in five years saying - being your grandmother and to respect me - I would appreciate if you don't go. I got crying phone calls from my mum," said Nemec, a warehouse supervisor from Reno, Nevada. He decided to go anyway, but understood his family's concerns. Iraq has seen almost non-stop turmoil for decades, from an eight-year war with Iran in the 80s, to the first Gulf war in the 90s and heavy sanctions, the 2003 U.S. invasion, years of bloody sectarian warfare and then conflict with Islamic State militants. Anna Nikolaevna, 38, a Russian national, and Jacob Nemec, 29, an American national, walk dur...

इराकखबरनामाघटनाएं

Mosul sculptor ‘recreates what was demolished’ on murals depicting Iraq history

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

September 24, 2022271 Views

Iraqi sculptor Khaled Al-Abadi's carefully chiselled engravings of lions, chariots, and birds decorate his Mosul workshop - the fulfilment of a dream to "to recreate what was demolished" during turbulent years of war. "During the Islamic State period, when my colleague and I were walking around, we would see the statues that were removed, and the gates that were being demolished, we were really troubled by this," Al-Abadi told Reuters. The sculptor Khaled al-Abadi works inside his workshop on his sculptures which depict scenes from the history of the city of Mosul, in Mosul, Iraq, September 15, 2022. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily His clay-based murals reflect the country's long history – from the Assyrian period through to the Islamic State occupation. "We want to remind the comin...

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Iraq’s ‘pearl of the south’ Lake Sawa dry amid water crisis

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

June 13, 20221003 Views

Hussam al-Aqouli remembers the exact spot along southern Iraq’s Lake Sawa where his two daughters once dipped their feet into clear waters. Now he stands there two years on and the barren earth cracks beneath him. This year, for the first time in its centuries-long history, the lake dried up. A combination of mismanagement by local investors, government neglect and climate change has ground down its azure shores to chunks of salt. Lake Sawa is only the latest casualty in this broad country-wide struggle with water shortages that experts say is induced by climate change, including record low rainfall and back-to-back drought. The stress on water resources is driving up competition for the precious resource among businessmen, farmers and herders, with the poorest Iraqis counting among...

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Ziggurat hopes to bring together several faiths – and hopefully lure more visitors

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

February 22, 2021777 Views

Pope Francis is due to hold an inter-religious prayer service at the ancient Mesopotamian site of Ur when he visits Iraq next week - an event local archeologists hope will draw renewed attention to the place revered as the birthplace of Abraham. Popular with Western visitors in the 1970s and 1980s, Ur is scarcely visited today after decades of war and political instability shattered Iraq’s international tourism industry. The coronavirus crisis now also keeps local tourists away. A general view of the ancient archeological site of Ur, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Abraham, ahead of the planned visit of Pope Francis, in Ur near Nassiriya, Iraq February 18, 2021. REUTERS/Mohammed Aty Located about 300 km (200 miles) south of the capital Baghdad, the site comprises a...