Iraq : the ancient sites & Iraqi Kurdistan : the Bradt travel guide

Introduction xPART ONE GENERAL INFORMATION 1Chapter 1 Background Information 3Geography and climate 3, Natural history andconservation 5, Government and politics 8, Economy11, People 14, Language 17, Religion 18, Education 26,Culture 27Chapter 2 History 37Early Mesopotamia 37, Before Sumer 38, The Sumerians39, Babylon and Hammurabi 40, The Assyrians 41,Babylon revisited 41, Persian conquest 43, Alexanderthe Great 43, The Umayyads 43, The Abbasids 46,The Mongols 49, The Ottomans 50, Modern times 52,Occupation and first experiments with democracy 64,Iraq under Maliki 66Chapter 3 Archaeology 69Introduction 69, The history of archaeology in Iraq 71,Archaeology in Iraq today 76, The future 79Chapter 4 Practical Information 83When to visit 83, Highlights 83, Suggested itineraries 84,Tour operators 87, Red tape 89, Police and military 90,Embassies 90, Getting there and away 92, Health 94, Safety98, Women travellers 100, Travellers with disabilities 100,Gay and lesbian travellers 101, Travelling with kids 101,What to take 101, Money 102, Budgeting 102, Gettingaround 103, Accommodation 104, Eating and drinking105, Public holidays and festivals 107, Shopping 108,Media and communications 110, Business 111, Buying aproperty 112, Cultural etiquette 112, Travelling positively114PART TWO BETWEEN THE TWO RIVERS 117Chapter 5 Baghdad and Environs 119History 119, Getting there and away 129, Getting around133, Tourist information 134, Tour operators 134, Whereto stay 134, Where to eat and drink 137, Entertainment137, Culture 139, Shopping 140, Sports/fitness 141,Other practicalities 141, What to see and do 142, AroundBaghdad 156Chapter 6 East and West of Baghdad 169Baquba 169, Around Baquba 172, The internationalborder crossing in Diyala Province to Iran 173 Fallujah173, Around Fallujah 175, Ramadi 177, Around Ramadi179, The international border crossings in Anbar Provinceto Syria and Jordan 179, Rutba 181, Balad 184, Samarra185, Tikrit (Salah ad Din) 194, Around Tikrit 196, Barji(Bayji) 196Chapter 7 Kirkuk and Mosul 199Kirkuk 199, Around Kirkuk 204, Mosul 208, AroundMosul 217, To the north of Mosul 227, To the east ofMosul 235, To the west of Mosul 235, To the south ofMosul 239Chapter 8 The Road South 248History 248, Kerbala (Shrine City) 253, Around Kerbala260, Ukhaider 262, Around Ukhaider 265, Al-Hilla 265,Babylon 266, Around Babylon 272, Ancient Borsippa(Birs Nimrud) 276, Al-Kifl or Chifal 277, Kufa 280, Najaf283, Around Najaf 293, Al-Hira 294, Heading furthersouth 294, Diwaniyah 296, Nippur (Naifar) 296, Isin 298,Samawah 300, Around Samawah 301, Uruk 302, Larsa(modern Tell Senkereh) 304, Tell Ubaid 306, Eridu (TellAbu Sharein) 308, Ur (Tell Muqeihar) 309, Nasiriyah 314Chapter 9 Return from Basra 317Basra 317, Around Basra 327, Querna 328, The Marshes329, Al-Uzair (continuing on the road north) 340, Al-Amarah 341, Al-Kut 342, Al-Hiba (Lagash) 344, Wasit 346PART THREE IRAQI KURDISTAN 349Chapter 10 Practicalities in Kurdistan 351General information 351, Practical information 363,Highlights 364, Suggested itineraries 364, Tour operators366, Red tape 366, Embassies and other representation367, Getting there and away 367, Health 368, Safety 368,Women travellers 369, Gay travellers 369, Travellers withdisabilities 370, Travelling with kids 370, What to take370, Money 370, Getting around 370, Accommodation371, Eating and drinking 371, Public holidays 373,Shopping 374, Arts and entertainment 374, Media andcommunications 375, Business 376, Buying a property376, Cultural etiquette 376, Travelling positively 378Chapter 11 Erbil and Environs 379History 379, Getting there and away 380, Getting around382, Tourist information 382, Where to stay 382, Whereto eat and drink 385, Entertainment 386, Shopping 387,Sports/fi tness 387, Other practicalities 388, What to seeand do 388, Around Erbil 390Chapter 12 Dohuk and Environs 393History 393, Getting there and away 394, Getting around394, Tourist information 395, Where to stay 395, Whereto eat and drink 396, Entertainment 397, Shopping 397,Sports/fi tness 398, Other practicalities 398, What to seeand do 398, Around Dohuk 399Chapter 13 Suleimaniyah and Environs 403History 403, Getting there and away 404, Getting around404, Where to stay 404, Where to eat and drink 406,Entertainment 406, Shopping 407, Sports/fi tness 407,Other practicalities 407, What to see and do 407, AroundSuleimaniyah 408Appendix 1 Language 411Appendix 2 Further Information 415Appendix 3 Bibliography 421Index 423