原本計劃自一月份其從突尼斯開始，經利比亞、約旦、敘利亞、黎巴嫩、土耳其，一路走到伊朗的。之前我就說過，隻要我打算出行的地方，總是有這樣那樣的天災人禍發生，不知道算是第六感覺呢，還是啥。
今年就不用說了，茉莉花革命烈火熊熊燃燒。年初離家在馬耳他蹲了很久，然後去了倫敦。朋友玩笑說，最危險的地方就是最安全的地方。既然中東的大部分國家不安定，不如去伊拉克吧。
伊拉克，我當然是向往已久了。２０年前地理、曆史老師鏗鏘有力的講述至今難以忘懷：人類文明起源的搖籃，古巴比倫，空中花園，美麗的一千零一夜，富饒的兩河流域，這從我記事起就同戰爭緊密聯係在一起、可望不可及的地方難道真是我２０１１年的行程嗎？
我知道如果說要去伊拉克，家人沒有一個人會輕鬆地首肯。在給家人的電話裏：
我：中東大部分地方不能去了，現在隻剩下土耳其、伊朗。我有幾個月的時間，我想再加一個美索不達米亞。
LD: 美索不達米亞在哪裏？好像都沒聽說過。
我：在土耳其旁邊。
LD: 屬東歐麽？（他一定認為是前蘇聯分離出來的國家）
我：我也沒搞太清楚，差不多吧。
LD: 那好，你自己注意安全哦。
就這麽輕而易舉地拿到了許可。其他的人麽，就不用打招呼了，讓我來個先斬後奏吧。
其實我當時還是有些擔心的，伊拉克也時常會有爆炸發生。如果萬一我發生什麽意外，總要有人料理後事。我小心翼翼地問LD，要不要把在我名下的房子加上他的名字。他說：不用啊，你又不是一去不回了。嘻嘻，幸好沒加他的名字，不然去趟伊拉克豈不是損失慘重，一半的財產都給分掉了。
之後的日子很多都是在圖書館度過的，翻閱了大量伊拉克有關的書籍，隻是大多數都過於陳舊。
定機票的時候我財迷的毛病犯了。看來看去Gulf Air從迪拜經停巴林飛巴格達的機票最便宜, 正好我還沒去過迪拜，就是它了。誰知起飛前兩天被伊拉克旅遊局官員告知我的航班已經取消。打電話給訂票的公司詢問，回答說：你可以繳納150塊美金取消行程。暈倒！！再打電話給航空公司，我輕鬆地被轉給Etihad航空公司了。
同一天，LD不知道從哪裏知道了美索不達米亞就是伊拉克的代名詞，為時已晚。我一再說，我們是由伊拉克政府協助的，全程都有攜槍的便衣，我想亂跑都沒有機會，不會有任何事的。
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
想去而因時間及安全問題未能成行的地方：
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
其他相關信息：
簽證：
落地簽，需持伊拉克官方文件登機。
官方語言：
阿拉伯語，庫爾德自治區則是庫爾德語。英語通用，但能用英語交流的人不多。
參考書及資料：
Iraq, then & now by Karen Dabrowska & Geoff Hann
The story of civilization, part I, our oriental heritage
The cradle of civilization
貨幣及匯率：
US$1 = Iraqi Dinar1185， Apr 2011。美金在伊拉克部分地區為通用貨幣。
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