Out of Iraq

As much as we enjoyed Iraq, mainly its wonderful people and cuisine, it was time to leave the bustling capital and then the country as a whole. We will have to return to Iraq anyway as it's the only open way back to Europe overland from the Middle East, so no hard feelings.

On the way south we stopped by in Karbala. For Shi'a Muslims, to visit the tomb of the prophet's grandson Hussein, is an important pilgrimage, and people in the thousands if not millions flock here to pay their respects. We attempted to navigate the huge complex, often getting lost and mostly out of place amongst the mourning and solemn pilgrims.

On the way to Najaf, we then did a little side quest to Babylon, another city along the road out. Babylon was an ancient Mesopotamian city and home to the biblical Tower of Babel, although whether the muddy hill is really the Tower of Babel or otherwise is uncertain. And of course right at the front you'll find the famous Ishtar Gate (a reconstruction of course, the real one was stolen by the Germans and is kept in Berlin...).

Thanks to the extensive and very annoying city checkpoints, we finally reached Najaf at nightfall. Apart from being another large pilgrimage site, the city itself was more on the rough side - masked teens on scooters circling around and a level of criminality common in tourist hubs - to the extent that the checkpoint police would not let us enter the city on motorcycles unless the hotel had guaranteed secure parking... With the purpose of maintaining a reputation of theft management, it meant being stuck at a checkpoint until a hotel confirmed they could provide us with secured parking.
Najaf is also where we spent new years together with a few other travelers, watching the midnight fireworks and excitement - so it wasn't all doom and gloom!

We then followed south Euphrates and Tigris. In staying at hotels reduced our access to local people, so one night we decided to sleep in a Husseiniya. Husseiniyas are small rest stops built for pilgrims walking to Karbala and Najaf from other parts of the country.
As we arrived, the host told us to sit down next to him at the little campfire, as if he had been waiting for us. We were offered chai, a warm meal, and a safe place to sleep - all for free. In the evening, curious villagers (including the clan eldest!) stopped by to give us their Salams and ask millions of questions about us and our journey, while we ate our chicken and rice. Friendly chitchat until one after the other left, and we crawled into our bed.
The next morning at 6 there was a sudden awakening, as it turned out our sleeping place was also a social club to hang out straight after the morning prayer to have coffee and gossip. We quickly scrambled to pack and look presentable for breakfast, before thanking the host and jumping on our bikes.

We changed course and headed for the famous mesopotamian marshlands. The Marsh Arabs are a community that live amongst the streams and reeds with their buffalos. As punishment for revolting against Saddam, their marshland was severely drained and the population was massacred in 1992. Nowadays, the water channels have been restored and once again the buffalos graze along the banks. Here, we are hosted by Abu Rafad, the 'Friendly Grandpa' as he is known amongst foreigners. He took us out on a boat ride, observing the flora and fauna of the land, followed by a serving of Masgouf - the traditional grilled carp fish. Since a long time, we truly felt at peace here.

The next morning we wanted to beeline to the Kuwaiti border, but IronChris got sick and we had to pull into Basra, the last big city and petroleum hub. He was treated with the best antidote we know, Pizza and a good night sleep before attempting the border crossing once again.Read more