原本计划自一月份其从突尼斯开始，经利比亚、约旦、叙利亚、黎巴嫩、土耳其，一路走到伊朗的。之前我就说过，只要我打算出行的地方，总是有这样那样的天灾人祸发生，不知道算是第六感觉呢，还是啥。
今年就不用说了，茉莉花革命烈火熊熊燃烧。年初离家在马耳他蹲了很久，然后去了伦敦。朋友玩笑说，最危险的地方就是最安全的地方。既然中东的大部分国家不安定，不如去伊拉克吧。
伊拉克，我当然是向往已久了。２０年前地理、历史老师铿锵有力的讲述至今难以忘怀：人类文明起源的摇篮，古巴比伦，空中花园，美丽的一千零一夜，富饶的两河流域，这从我记事起就同战争紧密联系在一起、可望不可及的地方难道真是我２０１１年的行程吗？
我知道如果说要去伊拉克，家人没有一个人会轻松地首肯。在给家人的电话里：
我：中东大部分地方不能去了，现在只剩下土耳其、伊朗。我有几个月的时间，我想再加一个美索不达米亚。
LD: 美索不达米亚在哪里？好像都没听说过。
我：在土耳其旁边。
LD: 属东欧么？（他一定认为是前苏联分离出来的国家）
我：我也没搞太清楚，差不多吧。
LD: 那好，你自己注意安全哦。
就这么轻而易举地拿到了许可。其他的人么，就不用打招呼了，让我来个先斩后奏吧。
其实我当时还是有些担心的，伊拉克也时常会有爆炸发生。如果万一我发生什么意外，总要有人料理后事。我小心翼翼地问LD，要不要把在我名下的房子加上他的名字。他说：不用啊，你又不是一去不回了。嘻嘻，幸好没加他的名字，不然去趟伊拉克岂不是损失惨重，一半的财产都给分掉了。
之后的日子很多都是在图书馆度过的，翻阅了大量伊拉克有关的书籍，只是大多数都过于陈旧。
定机票的时候我财迷的毛病犯了。看来看去Gulf Air从迪拜经停巴林飞巴格达的机票最便宜, 正好我还没去过迪拜，就是它了。谁知起飞前两天被伊拉克旅游局官员告知我的航班已经取消。打电话给订票的公司询问，回答说：你可以缴纳150块美金取消行程。晕倒！！再打电话给航空公司，我轻松地被转给Etihad航空公司了。
同一天，LD不知道从哪里知道了美索不达米亚就是伊拉克的代名词，为时已晚。我一再说，我们是由伊拉克政府协助的，全程都有携枪的便衣，我想乱跑都没有机会，不会有任何事的。
行程：
Baghdad:
Tell Harmall, was a major administrative center for the local rulers in 1800 BC
Mirjan Mosque, from the 14th Century.
Khan Al Mirjan, from the 14th Century. Shrine of Sitt Zubayda, the favorite wife of Harun Ar-Rashid
Shrine of Prophet Usha
Shrine of Son of the 7th Imam
Madrassa al Mustansir， built in 14th century, one of the oldest and most prestigious schools of Islamic jurisprudence in Baghdad
Souk
Baghdad Museum of Art and Archaeology
Al Kadhimain Mosque, a world famous shrine constructed in AD 1515, 2 Imams Musa al-Kadhim and Muhammad al-Jawad was buried here.
Few city monuments
Sunset at Tigris River
Railway Station
Samarra:
Jami al Kabir Mosque as well as the palaces of Samarra go back to the caliph Al Mutawakkil, roughly 1200 years old.
Quasr al Khalifah, the palace of the caliph Al Mutasim from AD 836.
Abu Dulaf Mosque, a smaller mosque/minaret compound from 861
Erbil: ( Arbil)
Nimrud, a capital city under Assurnasirpal II in the 9th Century, the Assyrian city of Kalkhu
2 newly restored Christian monasteries:
Monastery Deir Mar Behnam from the 12th century
Monastery Deir Mar Matta from the 7th century
Citadel
Souk
Tikrit:
Saddam Hussein’s Palace
Salman Pak:
Ctesiphon: this arch was the reception hall of a Sassanid king in the 3rd century, adjacent to a palace of which little remains
A local mosque
Kish， one of the most powerful cities of the 3rd Millenium BC.
Babylon:
Rebuilt Babylon，a total rebuilding program has practically resurrected a site which was nothing but crumbling hills.
Borsippa
Albraham mosque
Saddam Hussein’s Palace
Kerbala:
Al Tar caves
Ukhaidir，a 9th century desert palace, or fortress
Al Caesar’s Church
Kerbala Husaynia Shrine is dedicated to one of the early Imams，and the Mashad Al Abbas.
Al Khifal, a shrine dedicated to Ezekiel
The oldest covered souk of Iraq, adjacent to the NajafAli’s shrine
Kufa, a 7th century palace called Dar al Imara
Nippur, over 5000 years of uninterrupted occupation, material remains from 4500 BC to 800 AD
Uruk, one of the major centers of Mesopotamia, was around 3200 BC that cuneiform script was developed.
The Ziggurat of Ur, a zealous archaeologist from Great Britain digging there in the 1930’s equated a layer indicating a flood at Ur
Eridu
Al Qurna
Confluence of Euphrates and Tigris
Between Nasiriya and Basra
Marshes
A village
Basra
Masjid Ali Mosque, woman’s chant
Railway station
Shanashil Houses, used by merchants, now in a bad state of repair
A ride in a boat on the Shatt Al-Arab at sunset
Al Uzair
Ezras Tomb
想去而因时间及安全问题未能成行的地方：
Baghdad:
Argagouf – Kassite site and Ziggurat
The international zone
North:
Hatra, the major UNESCO site
Assur, the important Assyrian site
Mosul city, the most dangerous place in Iraq at this moment
South:
Sippar, a Mesopotamian site
Lasash, a Mesopotamian site
Larsa, a Mesopotamian site
Wasit, an Arab city setup to administer the south after the Incasion of 737 AD. Minor remains only
The souks and southern docks of Basra
其他相关信息：
签证：
落地签，需持伊拉克官方文件登机。
官方语言：
阿拉伯语，库尔德自治区则是库尔德语。英语通用，但能用英语交流的人不多。
参考书及资料：
Iraq, then & now by Karen Dabrowska & Geoff Hann
The story of civilization, part I, our oriental heritage
The cradle of civilization
货币及汇率：
US$1 = Iraqi Dinar1185， Apr 2011。美金在伊拉克部分地区为通用货币。
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