Travelers must read signs that would be invisible to a newcomer: Flags and uniforms signal safety or danger. He was wearing cargo pants, a T-shirt, a federal police hat and an ammunition vest. There was no way to tell whom he worked for, but a yellow flag with green printing waved from a pickup truck parked nearby. It was the flag of Kataib Hezbollah, a militia trained and funded by Iran.
The Shiite militias mark their presence with flags. At Dujail, to the north of Baghdad, there is the flag of Asaib al-Haq : a white background with a green sketch of Iraq, with a Kalashnikov lying across it and framed by two swords.
Asaib al-Haq prides itself as perhaps the toughest of the Iranian-backed militias. Farther north, on the outskirts of Samarra, flies the flag of a new militia formed by the radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr, bearing a dove and his likeness. The revered Askariya Shrine in Samarra holds the tombs of two Shiite imams, and Shiites have sworn that they will protect it.
The glass walls of Samarra (Iraq): Ninth-century Abbasid glass production and imports
Back then, the Shiites, after suffering more than two years of suicide bombings, turned on Sunnis. Western security forces say the Sunni extremist group leading the current assault, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, hopes that will happen again and draw the larger Sunni community to their cause. Sabah al-Fatlawi, who heads the Samarra Special Force Command, which is leading the fight there and includes hundreds if not thousands of Shiite volunteers and militiamen.
A pickup passes, packed with young men in beige fatigues. If they are armed, the guns are not visible, and their innocent-looking faces suggest they are volunteers. They look terribly vulnerable in the open truck; in a different year, they would be young men on an outing to enjoy the shade of the vast palm groves that line either side of the road.
Volunteers from this area were being trained at a camp deep inside Balad, where electricity is scarce and black or green flags — two of the colors often favored by Shiites — hang from gates and windows.
The mood in the camp is edgy. Despite the soul-sapping heat, the volunteers have lined up in formation. Almost all of the to men have scrounged up something military-looking to wear for the training. He said 2, volunteers had registered there so far. Colonel Mustafa did not appear to have an easy job.
His charges are a motley assortment of men of different ages and physical abilities, some so out of shape that even running away from harm might be too much for them. Many were older, earnest and enthusiastic, but probably incapable of defending anything. There were many young men, too, fit and eager looking.
Sooner or later there would have to be a winnowing process. With Colonel Mustafa was Sheikh Mehdi al-Asadi, a new sort of cleric — one who wears military fatigues with his turban. Sheikh Asadi rarely let Colonel Mustafa complete a sentence. Enquire for further details and costs. All land transport is by local air conditioned vehicle with an Iraqi driver. Hotel accommodation is provided throughout and this varies in standard,some very good some not so good, all on a twin room sharing basis. When single rooms are available then a single room supplement is levied at all the hotels that we use.
Two meals a day only, breakfast and dinner, are included. All passports need to be acceptable to the Iraqi authorities. The final tour balance to be paid 8 weeks prior to the tour departure date. We have an open age policy as long as you are fit and healthy but clients over the age of 75 should enclose a letter from their doctor confirming that they are fit to travel with us. The Iraq Tourist visa is obtained through Hinterland Travel by prior arrangement with the Iraqi authorities.
Samarra Archaeological City: Address, Samarra Archaeological City Reviews: 5/5
Visa authority letters are sent to you for flight boarding purposes before you depart from your home. On your arrival at Baghdad airport you are met by a Ministry rep to facilitate your visa procedure. A cash payment in US Dollars has to be paid to the Immigration desk at the airport.
It is important that we are informed of your flight arrangements as your visa begins only on the tour start date. For visa and transfer arrangements we require you to arrive in the morning of the tour start date. Please check with us before booking your flights. The group size will be a maximum of 20 persons however the average group size rarely exceeds 12 persons of all ages and nationalities. English is the common language spoken along with the Arabic of the staff.
Security Security arrangements and procedures are paramount in the Iraq of today. To be able to travel through the innumerable check points and visit the sites ancient and religious travel papers and security are required and these arrangements have to be adhered to by all clients. We provide both, travel papers and the necessary security. However most Governments issue notices against travel to Iraq by tourists at the present time and travel insurance can be difficult to obtain as Hinterland Travel recognise.
The rules for this insurance vary from country to country.
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We will take clients, although totally at their own risk, without insurance cover as it can be so difficult to obtain. Please note that Hinterland Travel consider that once we have received your signed booking form that you have assessed the risks as specified by the various Government departments in your own country, and the worldwide media coverage and are fully aware of the travel risks.
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Special Note: during the current pandemic, rules and regulations relating to tours and travels can change from week to week. Our programmes have had to be suspended until it is safe to resume but expect to do so in the early months of the coming year. We aim to resume our normal Iraq programmes as soon as it is deemed to be safe to travel. There will be changes but use the existing schedules as the basis and we will keep you informed of these as soon as possible. Now the situation has vastly improved with the Caliphate being forced back over the Syrian border and Mosul relieved and Kirkuk taken back.
With the recovery of Tikrit and Mosul there is now a corridor between the two cities again, Mosul and Baghdad. We had also covered more of the neglected ancient cities of Sumar, amongst them Larsa, Lagash and Telloh but as conditions in the north are attempting to recover we are also eager to view and asses the damage for our future tours of this antique land. Hatra , Nimrud , Nineveh, all await us.
However it should be noted that these sites have been damaged and are in dangerous conditions as left by ISIS so that great care is necessary. I was astounded and horrified at the sheer scale of the destruction that my small group found on our pioneer tour in June It is devastating with some places unrecognisable. Morning tour of Baghdad, including Iraq National Museum. Afternoon visit to Agargouf, overnight Baghdad. This is a special departure put on as an additional one to our normal Iraq tour schedules. This has now been achieved but the mopping up is still taking place, certainly on the political front.
Our application for security clearance has been made and we should obtain this in the near future. Our tour date will be September 12th. The focal points are the Assyrian ancient sites andsome time spent around Mosul. This section being flexible for accommodation reasons. Security will be tight and great care will be needed by all concerned including camera sensitivity which will be insisted on, Personal politics re refugees etc, not encouraged as conversations. It will be hot weather, accommodation apart from Baghdad will not be good.
As dedicated friends of Iraq and wanting to contribute our share to the future of the country we ask all interested travellers, for now and in the future, to send into us your names and contact details so that we can update your regularly as to the travel opportunities in Iraq.
Email hinterland btconnect. Arrival Baghdad. Hotel transfer. Late afternoon excursion to Kings Royal tombs. Overnight Baghdad. Early start with drive to Samarra for Minaret and Abbasid Palace.