Iraq. Part II. Baghdad, Ctesiphon, KarbalaMap
April I was apparently the only person to whom the Iraqi Embassy in Russia issued a tourist visa this year. BaghdadMapThe Baghdad airport looks somewhat desolate, like the surface of Mars. ![]() This is normal, it turns out. It’s just that there’s a three kilometer secure zone around the airport. Cars from the outside aren’t even allowed to drive up to the airport building. So you have to take a special taxi from the parking lot for regular cars to the terminal. Once you leave the secure zone, everything is back to normal. ![]() Unbelievable but true: the Persian word „Baghdad“ doesn’t just sound similar, but is actually cognate to the Russian phrase „bogom danniy“, which means „god given“ (bag = bog, dad = danniy). The power of Indo-European roots in all its glory. ![]() The trash dumpsters here are from Turkey. ![]() And so are the traffic lights. ![]() A pre-war traffic light. ![]() Not a single pedestrian crossing in Russia is lit from above. Yet they are in Baghdad. ![]() Only the shoes remain of the Saddam Hussein monument that once stood on this pedestal. Everyone I asked was generally happy that Saddam had been overthrown, but expressed all sorts of displeasure with the Americans. ![]() There are very few traces of the war. Perhaps only the mangled highway crash barriers which haven’t been restored yet. I asked to see bombed-out neighborhoods with empty windows, but aside from the pile of bricks where the post office once stood (which was destroyed intentionally), there isn’t anything of the sort. ![]() You’d never know that combat took place here. ![]() The billboard warning about suicide bombers on the highway is no longer relevant. ![]() Now the billboards proclaim something joyful. ![]() An ordinary street. ![]() An ordinary side street. ![]() A typical street address sign. ![]() Live fish for sale. ![]() All the air conditioners are made in Iran. ![]() A restaurant in the evening. ![]() Alcohol being sold at night. Baghdad is a large and cosmopolitan city, so this is okay here. The place is run by Egyptians. ![]() Water in Iraq is completely free for everyone. And electricity costs pennies. An average family’s monthly electrical bill is about 5 dollars. ![]() That’s why many don’t turn the lights off even during the day. ![]() After constantly hearing people on TV talk about the high-security «Green Zone» where all the foreigners are holed up, I was sure that that’s where my hotel would be. But as it turned out, the Green Zone is the one place that’s impossible to get into. It’s where the government is based, and they don’t let anyone in. CtesiphonMapTheoretically, there’s freedom of movement in Iraq. In practice, every region makes up its own rules. For example, on the way to Ctesiphon there’s a checkpoint where you have to wait for some kind of special permission. Since the wait ended up being about three hours, in that time I managed check out the surroundings, make friends with the soldiers, have some tea and discuss Putin and Maria Sharapova. ![]() The only activity that seems to make any sense is checking cars that are passing through for explosives using a special device. If there are explosives (or a detonator, more likely), the device’s antenna will point in their direction. The locals say the device exists only for show, but the soldiers carry out the inspections with a serious face. ![]() Iraq is teeming with military personnel. All of them are well equipped, healthy and young. And all of them have absolutely nothing to do all day long. ![]() So they just sit there. ![]() As for me, I decided to take a walk. To the barbershop. ![]() And the pharmacy. ![]() We finally receive the go-ahead. Our passenger car is assigned a Humvee as a convoy. It accompanies us for about a kilometer to the next checkpoint, where another vehicle takes over. It’s unclear why this is necessary. But it is. Otherwise the soldiers will get bored. ![]() In the year 299, the Roman emperor Galerius conquered the city and then traded it to the Persian king for Armenia. We arrive too late. It’s too dark to see anything. ![]() So we decide to return the next morning, especially since it’s so close to Baghdad. Once again, there’s a security convoy relay—and a completely free one at that. The new police don’t take bribes, much less the military. ![]() The soldiers are here for the first time themselves. They snap photos of everything around with their cell phones. ![]() And here’s the Arch of Ctesiphon. 1500 Years old, 37 meters tall. It was once part of the throne room of a large palace. Looks impressive to this day. Nothing else remains of Ctesiphon. ![]() By the way, Iraqis have such a high opinion of themselves that it’s practically impossible to find a shoe shiner. No one is willing to perform such lowly work. KarbalaMapKarbala is an important city for Shiites because the grandsons of the prophet Mohammed were killed here. At a checkpoint a couple of kilometers outside the city, my passport was taken away from me and replaced with a plain-looking yellow slip of paper that didn’t even have my name on it. With this paper, I set off towards Karbala. Used it to check into my hotel. Showed it to some policemen. The next day, I had to go to a police station, find a specific person, show them my piece of paper and get my passport back. I still have no idea why that paper is supposed to be a better form of identification than a passport, which at least has a photo in it. ![]() The official who issues photography permits. ![]() Karbala payphones look like centurion helmets. ![]() Pilgrims come here on buses from Iran. ![]() And pilgrimize. ![]() They take photos of themselves in front of mosques. ![]() Sit and rest with their families. ![]() Go to the markets. ![]() They have canisters with free drinking water set up for them all over the city’s center. ![]() Everything will be cleaned up after them when they leave. ![]() |
april
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april 2012
Iraq. Part II. Baghdad, Ctesiphon, Karbala
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