As is commonly believed, the name of the country comes from the Arabic consonant word “Iraq”, which means “lowland” or “coast”. At the moment, a rather unstable military and political situation persists in the country, which, perhaps, accompanies Iraq throughout its history. Most often, Iraqis become victims of militant attacks by states that want to take over the territory of this country, which is quite rich in such natural resources as natural gas and oil. Now in Iraq there is complete devastation, all sources of fresh water are literally poisoned by a number of deadly bacteria, and because of the terrible unsanitary conditions, diseases such as hepatitis, tuberculosis or tetanus have long become the norm. Iraqis treat visitors with caution, but they do not show aggression. The territory of the Republic of Iraq is clearly not suitable for spending holidays, except perhaps for fans of extreme recreation with a “twist”, in the form of a risk of unexpectedly falling under fire from the Israeli military or being blown up by a mine forgotten by terrorists. The cuisine of the Iraqis, like that of all Muslims, is quite specific, although in general it is quite tolerable, and lamb dishes, such as the national pilaf or kebab, can be eaten a lot and with pleasure.

Geography of Iraq

According to listofusnewspapers, the state of Iraq is located in the South-Western part of Asia, in the valley of the fairly large rivers Euphrates and Tigris. In the north, Iraq borders on Turkey, the eastern neighbor of Iraq is the no less militant Republic of Iran, the southern border separates the Republic of Iraq from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and from the west, Iraqi neighbors are the Syrian Arab Republic and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. In addition, the south of the coastal republic is washed by the waters of the Persian Gulf. The Republic of Iraq is conditionally divided into 16 governorates (provinces). The head of the state of Iraq is the president, and the parliamentary republic is recognized as the form of government in the country.

Capital

Baghdad

Area

The area of the country is 441,800 km².

Population

About 31,234,000 people live in Iraq.

Currency

The official currency is the Iraqi dinar (IQD), which is equal to 100 fils.

Language

Arabic is recognized as the state language of communication and document flow in the country, but no one disputes the use of Kurdish as a second state language.

Visa

Visa is issued at the consulate

Weather in Iraq

In most territories of the Republic of Iraq, the continental type of climate prevails. The central regions of Iraq are characterized by a long and rather hot summer, but the winter there, on the contrary, is very short and not at all frosty. Humid climate prevails in the south of the country, the temperature in the southern regions of Iraq sometimes reaches +50 degrees Celsius. Mountainous terrain is typical for the north and northeast of the republic, about 1500 mm of precipitation falls every year in the mountains of Iraq, but the southern part of the country, partly covered by the deserts of Syria and El-Hijar, receives only 60 to 100 mm of precipitation per year. In addition, dust storms are quite typical for the south of the country in summer.

Electricity

The voltage in the electrical networks of Iraq is standard – 220V/50Hz. The country uses sockets of both European and American types.

Religion in Iraq

Among the inhabitants of the Republic of Iraq, the most widespread religion is Islam. Among Muslims, about 60% consider themselves followers of the Shiite Islamic religion, a little less – 37% of the country’s inhabitants prefer to believe in the Sunni interpretation of Islam, and only 3% of Iraqis are Christians. By the way, representatives of the Sunni religious views, which are mostly concentrated in the so-called “Sunni triangle”, which includes central Iraq west of Baghdad, were the most fierce fighters in the war with the Americans. Shiites, during the hostilities, quite often occupied the American side. With the outbreak of the war, both Islamic forces embarked on the warpath against fellow citizens of the Christian faith, which significantly reduced the number of the latter in Iraq.