Holy Sites in Iraq

The tomb of Imam Ali, the first Shia Imam and fourth Caliph, in Najaf.

The shrine of Imam Husayn in Karbala, site of the pivotal Battle of Karbala in 680 CE.

A major Shia mosque in Baghdad housing the tombs of the seventh and ninth Imams.

A 9th-century Abbasid mosque famous for its massive spiral minaret, the Malwiya Tower.

A 4,000-year-old Sumerian temple platform, one of the best-preserved ziggurats in Mesopotamia.

The traditional tomb of the biblical prophet Ezekiel, sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

One of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the world, atop an ancient tell in Kurdistan.

One of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world, perched on Mount Maqlub in northern Iraq.

The holiest shrine of the Yazidi people, nestled in a valley in Kurdistan, Iraq.

A major Shia shrine in Samarra housing the tombs of the tenth and eleventh Imams.