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Baghdad Hotels: 137 Reviews - 298 Photos
As Sulaymaniyah Hotels: 32 Reviews - 44 Photos
Babylon Hotels: 2 Reviews - 4 Photos
Mosul Hotels: 6 Reviews - 9 Photos
`Amman Hotels: 0 Reviews
Zakho Hotels: 4 Reviews - 10 Photos
Ur Hotels: 2 Reviews - 6 Photos
Tikrit Hotels: 7 Reviews - 24 Photos
Ctesiphon Hotels: 0 Reviews - 1 Photo
Tall `Afar Hotels: 1 Review - 5 Photos
Samarra' Hotels: 0 Reviews - 1 Photo
Salah ad Din Hotels: 1 Review
Kuwayt Hotels: 1 Review - 20 Photos
Kirkuk Hotels: 29 Reviews - 73 Photos
Karbala' Hotels: 4 Reviews - 4 Photos

Iraq Warnings Or Dangers

Iraq, Or Mars!?

by EGerard

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Iraq, Or Mars!?
by EGerard
It Took 60 Seconds To Roll Out Of The...
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Two Marines Lost life in this lake crash...
by jonb64
Warnings Or Dangers
by american_tourister
HMMWV Destroyed By An IED
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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Bring Enough Cash!

by maykal

Before crossing the border, stock up on Turkish lira if you haven't got any dollars, euros or pounds sterling. Once inside Iraqi Kurdistan, it's very difficult to get money, so bring enough cash with you to last for the whole trip. I did see a cashpoint (ATM) in the posher suburbs of Erbil with signs for Visa, Mastercard and Cirrus on it, but it was out of action...all the other ATMs I saw were for local cards only.Changing money is not a problem. You can use banks, although I preferred the moneychangers in the streets. Look out for old men sat behind little stalls with piles of dinars and a big black calculator. Their rates are slightly better than the banks, and I found them pretty reliable. In all four cities, I found moneychangers on the main streets in the bazaars...if you're finding it tricky to locate them, ask in your hotel. Dollars, Euros and Pounds Sterling are the best three...

Checkpoints

by maykal

Not really a danger, just a warning to keep your passport handy when travelling between towns and cities. There are checkpoints at regular intervals on all roads, some manned by the traffic police who will not be interested in you, others manned by the Kurdish Peshmerga who may want to see your passport or ask you a few questions. It's nothing really to be concerned about...often we were waved through, but if stopped, I generally had to show my visa stamp and say what I was doing in the country. At the last checkpoint before major cities, things are usually a bit stricter...baggage may be searched, passports and ID checked, and foreigners sent to talk to a security official. Stay calm, smile, be polite, and you'll be treated accordingly. If you know some Kurdish, great...if you know some Arabic, good but not as great...otherwise, someone with a bit of English might be dragged out to meet...

Improvised Explosive Devices

by EGerard

Simply put, this is the single biggest killer of Soldiers over here in Iraq (though it has gotten much quieter in the last year or so). Basically, they take a half dozen mortar rounds or artillery shells, wire them up, then bury them in the road. When our convoys roll by, they detonate them. There are like seven different ways for them to detonate them, and we come up with ways to defeat their detonation, and then they apapt to us, then we adapt to them; it's a never-ending cycle of adaptation. That being said, irregardless of how good your training is, and how alert you stay, in the end, it just comes down to luck, or fate, or God, or whatever it is that you believe in. If it's your time to die, then it's your time to die.

Life Stopping Sand Storms

by EGerard

The sand storms that roll through here are sudden, fierce, and basically literally cause everyone to run (really run) to whatever shelter's available. To be honest, it's kind of hard to describe this lovely little phenomenon unless you've actually experienced it. Sometimes, you see the rolling sand cloud swiftly moving towards you from a distance, while other times its perfectly normal outside until, suddenly, it looks the bloody Mars Rover pictures and a open furnace wind starts sucking the moisture out of your eyeballs. It's heaps of fun!

of course,when travelling in...

by fabrice

of course,when travelling in iraq,you do not say anything about israel,by the way,you do not know where is israel,you have never heard of israel,you have no relatives in israel,it is the first time you hear about israel

Colder than you would Imagine

by AnthonyMaze

While deployed to Al Asad Air Base in Iraq, I found out the hard way that it was ALOT colder than you would expect. They have winter months of November through March just like the midwest in the United States. I WAS NOT expecting it to be as cold as it was though. For the majority of time it was exactly how it would be if you were in lower Ohio or Kentucky. If anyone is going to be there on deployment or if your a contractor going over there for the first time. Expect to be purchasing more warming layers that what you would expect. It actually DOES snow sometimes in Iraq. Stay Warm.

Safe comfortable American loving Iraq

by bertlord

If you wanted to read this review then you must be ready for an adventure. Iraq is known by most people in the world as a dangerous place that you only visit if you are crazy of paid a lot of money to live there. For most of Iraq this is the truth, but in the north it is very different. Northern Iraq is also known as Iraqi Kurdistan. The people of this region love Americans. Since 1993 there has been peace in this region and they have started to build an infrasctructure that will bring them inline with countries like Jordan, UAE, and Turkey. Even though they are making progress Kurdistan is not yet an industralizing nation. They have a lot of the economic and environmental problems that all developing nations have. Flying into Erbil International Airport in Kurdistan you will not even recognize that you are in Iraq. The Iraqi flag is not flown anywhere and the people speak their own...

Garbage piles

by american_tourister

The infrastructure here never really worked. The German brand of Fascism brought orderliness, the Italian type brought national pride, the Iraqi one just brought greed and corruption.There are garbage dumps where people have lived for long since before we arrived. I fly over a huge dump on the North side of Baghdad almost weekly and am still saddened by the sight of children and women digging through the piles looking for useable items.The lack of sanitation concerns me as does the exposure of children to this bad practice. They will grow up thinking it is AOK to just throw trash on the ground.Another common site is that of goats meandering through the piles snacking on whatever they can find.

Traffic

by american_tourister

Drivers here are the worst. I have driven in a lot of different countries. Bosnians and Indians, and Russians are bad but the Iraqis are the worst I have ever seen.If there is one car length they will take it. Who ever has the loudest horn has the right of way!

Photography

by jkseddon

Be careful of what you photograph. Many people, particularly the authorities, are understandably uneasy with taking photos of some things. There's no need to keep your camera in your bag but aside from all the normal common-sense type rules about taking pictures, watch for anyone eyeing you suspiciously and don't hesitate to ask if it's okay to take a picture before you do.