Holy Sites in Iraq

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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