Reisinformatie: Iraq

Once known as Mesopotamia, meaning ‘land amongst the rivers’, these fertile lowlands are described as a ‘cradle of civilisation’, due to cultural advances made by city-states thriving here as early as 4,900 BCE.

Since this time, Iraq has been part of the Persian, Mongolian, Ottoman and British empires, finally gaining independence in 1932. The coup d’état in 1958 brought an end to the monarchy and was followed by dictatorships, genocide, territorial disputes and war, destroying much of the infrastructure. Current efforts to rebuild are thwarted by insurgencies and many invaluable artefacts of this region’s accomplished history have been lost.