Iraq - Basra

Basra

Shanashil: A Sustainable Element to Balance Light.

Sent by Essam from Basra, Iraq.

Basra (Arabic: ٱلْبَصْرَة, romanized: al-Baṣrah) or Basrah is a port city in southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq border at the north-easternmost extent of the Arabian Peninsula, the city is situated along the banks of the Shatt al-Arab that empties into the Persian Gulf. It is consistently one of the hottest cities in Iraq, with summer temperatures regularly exceeding 50 °C (122 °F).

Built in 636 as a military camp, Basra played an important role as a regional hub of knowledge, trade and commerce during the Islamic Golden Age and is home to the first mosque built outside the Arabian Peninsula. It was a center of the slave trade in Mesopotamia, until the Zanj rebellion in 871. Historically, Basra is one of the ports from which the fictional Sinbad the Sailor embarked on his journeys. It has experienced numerous ruling shifts. In 1258, the city was sacked by the Mongols. Basra came under Portuguese control in 1526 and was later occupied by the Safavids in 1697. It subsequently fell under the control of the Ottoman Empire as part of the Basra Vilayet. During World War I, British forces captured Basra in 1917. It was incorporated into Mandatory Iraq, under the framework Mandate for Mesopotamia after 1921, which later became the independent Kingdom of Iraq in 1932 (read more).

Iraq - Al-Kādhimiya Mosque

Baghdad
Al-Kadhimiya Mosque

Sent by Ahmed, a Facebook friend from Tikrit in Iraq.

This is from Wikipedia : The Al-Kādhimiya Mosque is a shrine located in the Kādhimayn suburb of Baghdad, Iraq.

It contains the tombs of the seventh Twelver Shī‘ah Imām Mūsā al-Kādhim and the ninth Twelver Shī‘ah Imām Muhammad at-Taqī.

Also buried within this mosque are the famous historical scholars, Shaykh Mufīd and Shaykh Nasīr ad-Dīn Tūsi.

Directly adjacent to the mosque are two smaller shrines, belonging to the brothers who compiled Nahjul Balagha - Shaykh Radhi and Shaykh Murtadhā.

Iraq - Greetings From Iraq

Multiviews of Iraq.

Sent by Ahmed, a Facebook friend from Tikrit City in Iraq.

Iraq - The Unknown Soldier Monument

Baghdad
The Unknown Soldier Monument by sculptor Khalid Al-Rhai.

Sent by Ahmed, a Facebook friend from Tikrit City in Iraq.

This is from Wikipedia : The Monument to the Unknown Soldier (Arabic,صرح الجندي المجهول) is said to be inspired by the glorification of a martyr from the Iran–Iraq War. The Monument represents a traditional shield (dira¹a) dropping from the dying grasp of an Iraqi warrior. The monument also houses an underground museum.

The artificial hill is shaped like a low, truncated cone of 250 m diameter. It is surrounded by slanting girders of triangular section that are covered with marble. Red granite, stepped platforms of elliptical form lead to the dome and cubic sculpture. The steel flagpole is entirely covered with Murano glass panels fixed on stainless steel arms and displaying the national flag colours. The cantilevered dome is 42m in diameter and follows an inclination of 12 degrees. Its external surface is clad with copper, while its inner surface features a soffit finished with pyramidal modules alternating steel and copper. The promenade is covered by a semi-circular, flat roof supported on a triangular steel bracing. The roof is covered with a copper sheet and the soffit displays V-shaped panels of stainless steel and Murano glass.

The cube beneath the shield is made of seven layers of metal, said to represent the seven levels of Heaven in the Islamic faith. Inside the layers of metal are sheets of red acrylic, said to represent the blood of the slain Iraqi soldiers. The cube itself is connected to the underground museum by a long shaft with windows that allow light to shine in from above. Inside the museum, visitors can look up at the ceiling and see through the openings leading to the cube above.

The underground museum is not currently lighted, except for the light that shines in from the windows above and through the doors (when opened). Visitors must bring their own flashlights to view the now-empty cases that once held numerous war relics.

Visiting the monument is permissible during daylight hours, although visitors must ask for permission from the Iraqi soldiers who guard the monument before approaching the monument.