°Iraq ° UNESCO °world heritage sites
°Al Basrah governorate [capital = Al Basrah]
°East Hammar Marshes
in
°Ad Dayr
°
Following the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, returning Marsh Arabs broke embankments and drainage works, so that the wetland started to reflood. By the following year, vegetation had regrown significantly in the western part of the Hammar Marshes, and wildlife species returned.
°Al Hillah governorate [capital = Babylon]
°Ruins
in
°Babylon
at
°N32 32 31.09 E44 25 15
°
It includes villages and agricultural areas surrounding the ancient city. Its remains, outer and inner-city walls, gates, palaces and temples, are a unique testimony to one of the most influential empires of the ancient world.
°Al Muthanna governorate [capital = Samawah]
°Archaeological City
of
°Uruk
at
°N31 19 27 E45 38 14
°
At its height c. 2900 BC, Uruk probably had 50,000 - 80,000 residents living in 6 km2 (2.32 sq mi) of walled area; making it the largest city in the world at the time.
°Arbil governorate [capital = Erbil]
°Citadel
in
°Erbil
at
°N36 11 28 E44 0 33
°
A continuous wall of tall 19th-century fassades still conveys the visual impression of an impregnable fortress, dominating the city of Erbil.
°Dhi Qar governorate [capital = Nasiriyah]
°Central & West Hammar Marshes
in
°Chibayish
°
The Ahwar of Southern Iraq, also known as the Iraqi Marshlands, are unique, as one of the world's largest inland delta systems, in an extremely hot and arid environment.
°Ur Archaeological City
in
°Tall Muqayr
°
The ruins cover an area of 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) northwest to southeast by 800 metres (2,600 ft) northeast to southwest and rise up to about 20 metres (66 ft) above the present plain level.
°Tell Eridu Archaeological City
in
°Eridu
°
Eridu was long considered the earliest city in southern Mesopotamia and is still today argued to be the oldest city in the world.
°Maysan governorate [capital = Amarah]
°Hawizeh Marshes
in
°Qalah Salih
°
The marshes were once home to millions of birds and the stopover for millions of other migratory birds, including flamingos, pelicans and herons as they traveled from Siberia to Africa.
°Ninawa governorate [capital = Mosul]
°Fortified city
of
°Hatra
°
The remains of the city, especially the temples where Hellenistic and Roman architecture blend with Eastern decorative features, attest to the greatness of its civilization.
°Salah ad Din governorate [capital = Tikrit]
°Archaeological City
in
°Samarra
at
°N34 20 27.562 E43 49 24.755
°
The city preserves two of the largest mosques (Al-Malwiya and Abu Dulaf) and the most unusual minarets, as well as the largest palaces in the Islamic world (the Caliphal Palace Qasr al-Khalifa, al-Ja'fari, al Ma'shuq, and others).
°Ashur
in
°Al Shirqat
°
From the 14th to the 9th centuries BC it was the first capital of the Assyrian Empire, a city-state and trading platform of international importance. It also served as the religious capital of the Assyrians, associated with the god Ashur.
