Pre-war trip to Iraq 🇮🇶 (Feb 2026)

A few photos from my 10-day trip to Iraq this February. I flew into Baghdad, then visited Samarra, the ruins of Babylon, the holy Shia cities of Karbala and Najaf, the Mesopotamian marshes at Chibayish, before flying out of Basra by the Persian Gulf. It’s more or less ‘the’ tourist route through central and southern Iraq, but with good reason.

I’d been to Iraq before, to the Kurdish region in the north, which is arguably more beautiful. It’s lusher, with these dramatic mountains and ravines. In the south it’s flatter, more arid. There are sandstorms and the pollution is worse. But it’s got all the history and the ruins and the ancient civilisations that fascinate me.

I travelled solo using shared taxis, which is easy enough, even without Arabic. A bit of patience and ChatGPT and you’re sorted. Accommodation is on the expensive side, if you want comfort that is. Food on the other hand is very good and very cheap. In terms of safety, I’m sure it’s changed a lot in the last weeks, but it was perfectly fine when I was there.

I’ve travelled quite widely in the region and Iraqis are, without doubt, the friendliest people. I lost track of the number of times strangers paid for my meal or businesses refused to take payment. It was a really wonderful trip and I was lucky to visit when I did.