I'm in Iraq
It was a random trip, planned at the very last minute. But last week, two friends and I boarded a Fly Baghdad flight from Istanbul and soon landed in Iraq's capital city.
We arrived at midnight, filled out a 1 page application for a 'Visa on arrival' at the small desk in the immigration area and handed over $77 USD each. Five minutes later we had our visas and we entered the country.
This trip has been wild. It's been nothing at all like I imagined.
Baghdad is quite vibrant. We bounced between neighborhoods, mostly using the Careem app (similar to Uber) to travel around. We walked through the streets and markets of Old Baghdad, ate falafel from food stalls and all kinds of salads and meze from rooftop restaurants overlooking the city.
The people here are kind. Very kind. Everywhere we went, we were met with smiles and generous interactions. Taxi drivers refused to accept payment, market vendors refused money and let us taste all of their food, locals offered to pay for almost every meal, strangers wanted photos with us all the time and despite a language barrier, almost everyone we encountered seemed genuinely excited that we were visiting their country.
Even as a US citizen, I felt no hostility. Instead, I would hear the same thing repeated by many locals. They were very happy that the US toppled Saddam Hussein but they were not happy with how it was handled afterwards.
However, as is the case all over the world, most people understand the difference between a traveler and their government and nobody held anything against me personally.
In Baghdad, the optimism is real. Especially among the younger people, but also among the middle aged. People are desperate for the stability to remain and for the country to become more progressive. This was most evident when, during the first couple of days here, Georgiana would put a head scarf on while outside and locals would tell her that she didn't need it at all and she should take it off. Many people here want the country to be free.
The people we met in Baghdad spoke of an open-minded and accepting country and would often point out things such as women wearing whatever they want, the decrease in religious beliefs among the youth and welcoming a diversity of all kinds of lifestyles.
When I posted photos on social media, a couple of followers wrote that they were depressed because they didn't see many women. Here's the thing about that... there are countries in this region that have had stable, wealthy governments for a long time, yet their treatment of and restrictions on women are indeed something to be depressed about.
Yet here in Iraq, despite being stuck in war and turmoil for most of the past 60 years, women were quick to point out the freedoms they enjoy that women in other nearby countries don't. When it comes to driving, education, careers, relationships, fashion, travel and more, at least in Baghdad, women were proud of being in control of their lives. This doesn't apply to everyone of course, but we were repeatedly told that it is becoming much more common with the younger generations.
Sure, as we left Baghdad and traveled south, the situation changed drastically. When we reached the city of Najaf, home to the strikingly gorgeous
Imam Ali Shrine, and full of pilgrims from around the world, there were still plenty of women everywhere, but they were almost all wearing an abaya (a black robe-like garment that covers the hair and body). Their lives were clearly dictated by restrictions. Georgiana had to purchase an abaya to wear when outside and in the public areas of the hotel here as well.
But in the capital city of Baghdad, the desire to return the country to its progressive days, and optimism about the future, was palpable.
I am extremely happy I came here. The people have been the highlight but everything we did has been rewarding too. We visited Babylon, one of Saddam Hussein's abandoned palaces, the tomb of Ezekiel, the shrine in Najaf and the impressive
Imam Hussain Shrine and Abbas Shrine in Karbala. That's not to mention the massive Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad, all kinds of monuments, neighborhoods, markets, cultural centers and several shisha cafes (such as Dar Al-Atraqchi Heritage Cage - shisha is a very present part of life here). We tried all kinds of mouthwatering cuisine, including a long list of sweets, and we drank endless cups of tea and fresh juices.
One minute we'd be at a checkpoint full of heavily armed soldiers (there are many of those) and the next we'd be at a
Babylonian-themed hipster cafe full of young adults in western clothes smoking shisha and eating cheesecake. Then we're in the old book market with the call to prayer coming from the turquoise and yellow
Haydar-Khana Mosque and minutes later we're taking a boat ride on the Tigris River before driving through the Green Zone.
Also, I felt quite safe the entire time. We walked around all over the city during the day and even late at night. We visited as many neighborhood as we could. We traveled outside of Baghdad to the south of the country and were still met with smiling faces and not even an ounce of trouble.
As one of our local guides explained, "Traveling to Iraq is a little risky, but it's not dangerous."
And the risk part for foreigners is more about being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and not being an actual target. So his words seem like a very fair assessment.
It's been an educational, fun and memorable week in this country.
It's also been dusty and exhaustingly hot at around 42C (108F) every day. But we pushed through of course because we wanted to do as much as possible!
