Iraq: Ancient Cities, Landscapes and Pilgrimage Tradition

A double city wall, a spiral minaret and a citadel with the street plan of the Ottoman period offer very different perspectives on Iraq. This contrast is useful for planning a trip: Hatra, Samarra and Erbil represent different forms of historical urban development, while Ashur is characterized by its location on the Tigris and the surrounding landscape. Together, these places offer different starting points for cultural and landscape interests.

Hatra: City Walls and Cultural Influences

Hatra lies in northern Iraq between the Tigris and Euphrates, in an open semi-desert landscape. The ancient fortified city was founded on the ruins of an Assyrian settlement. Its well-preserved double city wall is particularly striking: it attests to Hatra’s historical importance and to the influences of Assyrian-Babylonian, Aramaean, Greek, Parthian, Roman and Arab cultures. This diversity of cultural influences makes Hatra a place whose history cannot be reduced to a single era. Visitors interested in city fortifications and cultural connections will find a different focus here than in Samarra’s mosques and urban forms.

Samarra: Capital City History and Mosque Architecture

The archaeological city of Samarra combines political history with significant mosque architecture. From 836 to 892, it was the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. It is considered the only surviving Islamic capital to have preserved its original layout, architecture and art, including mosaics and carvings. The city includes the 9th-century Great Mosque and its spiral minaret. The Al-Malwiya and Abu Dulaf mosques are also among the largest mosques. At the same time, 80 percent of the site remains unexcavated. Samarra can therefore be understood both through its surviving urban form and striking buildings and through the extent of the area that remains unexcavated.

Erbil: Arbela and the Citadel

Erbil offers another perspective on Iraq’s history. The city is associated with Arbela, an important Assyrian political and religious center. The name Arbela has been attested in written sources since pre-Sumerian times. On the hill, the settlement on the citadel preserves the urban form and street plan of the Ottoman period. Here, the historical record of the name Arbela meets a later urban-planning detail. Visitors interested in urban history can consider both the written record of the name and the layout of a settlement.

Ashur: Landscape Along the Tigris

Ashur lies on the Tigris in northern Mesopotamia. The Tigris forms the city’s eastern boundary; to the north is a plain with a wadi, or the valley of a former branch of the Tigris. Hills lie to the west and south. Ashur also lies on the boundary between rain-fed and irrigated agriculture. This gives Ashur a different focus from Hatra’s city walls or Samarra’s mosque architecture: the river location, plain and hills shape the geographical character of the place.

Karbala: The Annual Arba'in Pilgrimage

Arba'in offers a different kind of travel interest. Each year, around the 20th day of the Islamic month of Safar, millions of visitors come to the Iraqi province of Karbala on pilgrimage. Pilgrims from various regions of Iraq and from abroad travel to the Holy Shrine of Imam Hussein. In Karbala, an annual religious tradition takes center stage; its timing follows the Islamic calendar. If you want to plan your trip around Arba'in, check the dates for the relevant year.

Travel Interests and Hotel Planning

Travelers particularly interested in urban forms and mosque architecture will choose different priorities from those focusing on Ashur’s river landscape or Arba'in. First, consider which of these perspectives you want to shape your stay, and use it to guide your search for hotels in Iraq.

Discover more destinations: Baghdad, Arbela, Kurdistan Region, Erbil, Al-Karbala, Najaf, Oman, Turkey.

To the main travel overview: Asia.