Iraq

Guide to IRAQ

IRAQ which official name is Republic of Iraq or Iraq, is a country from Asia located at the Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait. IRAQ with 3,650 km sq km, limits with: Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 181 km, Kuwait 240 km, Saudi Arabia 814 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 352 km; and is divided in 18 governorates . IRAQ's capital is Baghdad which is the most populated city with about 5,672,516 inhabitants.

History of IRAQ

IRAQ's government is parliamentary democracy; a Republic with a Ceremonial government type, with President Jalal Talabani as head of state and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as head of government.

Other symbols of IRAQ are Iraqi motto " Allahu Akbar (Arabic, God is Great) Iraqi anthem "Mawtini (My Homeland) Iraqi flag.Iraqi flag is composed by three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with three green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; the phrase ALLAHU AKBAR (God is Great) in green Arabic script - Allahu to the right of the middle star and Akbar to the left of the middle star - was added in January 1991 during the Persian Gulf crisis; similar to the flag of Syria, which has two stars but no script, Yemen, which has a plain white band, and that of Egypt which has a gold Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band; design is based upon the Arab Liberation colors .

IRAQ's history is quite long: Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by Britain during the course of World War I; in 1920, it was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration. In stages over the next dozen years, Iraq attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. A "republic" was proclaimed in 1958, but in actuality a series of military strongmen ruled the country until 2003, the last was SADDAM Husayn. Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive and costly eight-year war (1980-88). In August 1990, Iraq seized Kuwait, but was expelled by US-led, UN coalition forces during the Gulf War of January-February 1991. Following Kuwait's liberation, the UN Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq to scrap all weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles and to allow UN verification inspections. Continued Iraqi noncompliance with UNSC resolutions over a period of 12 years led to the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the ouster of the SADDAM Husayn regime. Coalition forces remain in Iraq under a UNSC mandate, helping to provide security and to support the freely elected government. The Coalition Provisional Authority, which temporarily administered Iraq after the invasion, transferred full governmental authority on 28 June 2004 to the Iraqi Interim Government, which governed under the Transitional Administrative Law for Iraq (TAL). Under the TAL, elections for a 275-member Transitional National Assembly (TNA) were held in Iraq on 30 January 2005. Following these elections, the Iraqi Transitional Government (ITG) assumed office. The TNA was charged with drafting Iraq's permanent constitution, which was approved in a 15 October 2005 constitutional referendum. An election under the constitution for a 275-member Council of Representatives (CoR) was held on 15 December 2005. The CoR approval in the selection of most of the cabinet ministers on 20 May 2006 marked the transition from the ITG to Iraq's first constitutional government in nearly a half-century.

IRAQs geography

Guide to travel to IRAQ

If you are thinking on traveling to IRAQ, you will have to take in consideration some points like IRAQ's currency, IRAQ's weather, IRAQ's national holiday and IRAQ's transports.

The first thing you need to know for your travels abroad is country's currency. IRAQ`s currency is called new dinar ( ID), which is divided in 1,000 fils. For your consideration, new dinar's exchange rate is about Cathedral Church of the Savior in Tsalenjikha per dolar.1,152.7007784745.

IRAQ's weather is characterized to be mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraq. So be sure of choosing the proper date to travel to IRAQ.

You can also consider to visit IRAQ on it's national holiday to get in IRAQ's culture. If you do so, IRAQ's national holiday is called Revolution Day, 17 July.

Also, if you like natural wonders, don't forget to visit the highest point of IRAQ: unnamed peak; 3,611 m; note - this peak is not Gundah Zhur 3,607 m or Kuh-e Hajji-Ebrahim 3,595 m. And try also to get to IRAQ's lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 mBut if you prefer the city, you must visit IRAQ's tallest structure: ( ).

Don't be afraid to take a flight to IRAQ, with more than 110 airports and 0 airlines, you will get to IRAQ without problems. Once there, you can choose the transport type that better fits your needs. IRAQ has about2,272 of railways, and also5,279 of roadways, so is a good place for a car trip.

Iraqi Culture

IRAQ is known by Iraqis as Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah or Al Iraq in the shortened way. Iraqi, about 27,499,638 people, are composed by different ethnics: Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian, or other 5%. And they also have different languages: Kurdish, Arabic.

Another relevant point nowadays it's IRAQ's religion. Iraqis are divided in Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3%.

Videos of Iraq

See some viedos of Iraq's places and tourism before choosing your vacations destination.

Latest News of Iraq