Iraq: The Overview

Iraq which is also called the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia and bordering by Jordan in the west, Syria in the northwest, Turkey in the north, Iran in the east, and Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in the south. The capital of Iraq is Baghdad which is situated in the centre-east of the country.

Two main rivers which run in the centre of Iraq are the Tigris and Euphrates which flow from northwest to southeast. Due to these rivers, Iraq became capable land for agriculture.

Iraq is situated in between latitudes 29° and 38° N, and longitudes 39° and 49° E which is a small area lying in west of 39°. The area span of Iraq is 437,072 km2 (168,754 sq mi) and it is ranked as the 58th-largest country in the world. It is equal in size to the US state of California and larger than Paraguay.

Best way to reach this place
  • By plane
    Baghdad International Airport, which was named before as Saddam International Airport is nearly 16 km away from mid of Baghdad. Now a days, Royal Jordanian Airlines has two flights on a daily basis from Queen Alia International Airport situated in Amman.

    RJA flights to Baghdad have recently opened Internet booking, and hence Iraq has now been successfully released to the public.

  • By train
    Later than twenty years of non-service, a passenger train has lately started once a week and runs between Mosul and Gaziantep in southeastern Turkey, passage a short band of territory called Syrian. This is the only way of arriving in Iraq by rail until now.

  • From Turkey
    Entering in from Turkey is the best method of getting into Iraq from north. The north area of the country is relatively safe as compared other parts of the country.
Culture and Lifestyle
Iraq is well known for an instrument called the oud which is same as a lute and a rebab which is same as a fiddle. The most admired radio station is the Voice of Youth which plays a mixture of western rock, hip hop and pop music.

Institutions which offer cultural education in Baghdad are the Academy of Music, Institute of Fine Arts and the Baghdad school of Music and Ballet.

National sport of Iraq is Football. Basketball, kick boxing, tennis, boxing, swimming, bodybuilding and weightlifting are also common sports played in Iraq.

Best Restaurants in Iraq
  • Candles Restaurant
    The Kabob's and the special sauce that they make out of peanuts are best and mostly liked.

  • Khan Murjan in Samawal Street
    A restaurant with a very traditional atmosphere, excellent meals and competent staff.


Would you like to know about the people and newspapers of Iraq?