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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 @
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 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 @
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]

Huwaizah Marshes in Qalah Salih
The Hawizeh marsh is critical to the survival of the Central and Hammar marshes, which also make up the Mesopotamian Marshes, because they are a refuge for species that may recolonize or reproduce in the other marshlands.

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 @
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.