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Baghdad is the capital city of Iraq. It is said that every road in Iraq leads to Baghdad. It is the City of the Caliphs. It is also the place wherethe legendary character Sindbad was born. Baghdad is located on the river Tigris. The river separates Baghdad into two parts namely Rusafa and Karkh. However, they are well-connected by bridges. In Rusafa one can find the Al-Rashid Street which is the commercial hub of the city.Caliph Street, which lies parallel to this street, is lined with ancient mosques and churches. Cinema halls, travel agencies, premium hotels and airline offices will be found on the Sadoun Street. One can take a lovely soothing drive by the Tigris along the road (lying parallel to Sadoun Street) that stretches from Jumhouriya Bridge to The 14th July Suspended Bridge.
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Iraq has a rich cultural history dating back to the Sumerians, thought to be the first advanced civilization on earth. Storytelling has been important since the very beginning. Mesopotamia’s stories have influenced other literature and art in the world, including Biblical stories (such as the Song of Songs, and The Psalms) & Greek epics & myths (such as The Iliad & Aesop’s Fables).
The most famous literacy work to emerge from this vast cultural history are the Epic of Gilgamesh (an Acadian hero-tale) & the One Thousands and One Nights (a collection of Arab Folktale)
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The region of Basra, the city of Sinbad the Sailor and the starting point of his famous adventurous voyages to the World, is, some would say, the most beautiful part of Iraq, outshining both the Persian miniature scenery of the central Euphrates and the cool, majestic north.
But Basra retains a romantic aura. So does the whole area of the south from Shatt El-Arab (the meeting point of Tigris and Euphrates rivers) up to Amara on the Tigris and Suq Eshiukh on the Euphrates: it is lush, watered, full of trees and gardens and canoes gliding on the mirror-surfaces of calm lagoons. It is an area of countless birds and a variety of animals. You feel that lions, possibly dragons or the Great Roc of A Thousand and One Nights may appear
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Al-Mustansereyya School overlooking the Tigris from Rusafa side, near Shuhada Bridge, with courses in Arabic, Theology, Astronomy, Mathematics, Pharmacology and Medicine with application hospital, was the most prominent and highly-esteemed university in the Islamic world of Abbasids.
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From earliest times Iraq was known as Mesopotamia—the land between the rivers—for it embraces a large part of the alluvial plains of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
An advanced civilization existed by 4000 B.C. Sometime after 2000 B.C. the land became the center of the ancient Babylonian and Assyrian empires. Mesopotamia was conquered by Cyrus the Great of Persia in 538 B.C. and by Alexander in 331 B.C. After an Arab conquest in 637–640, Baghdad became the capital of the ruling caliphate. The country was cruelly pillaged by the Mongols in 1258, and during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries was the object of repeated Turkish-Persian competition....
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The music of Iraq or Iraqi Music tends to be more traditional and soulful than that of other countries in the region.
Iraq is recognized mainly for an instrument named the oud and a rebab. The most renowned oudists are Ahmed Mukhtar, Naseer Shamma, Rahim Alhaj, and Munir Bashir.
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Football is the most popular sport in Iraq. Football is a considerable uniting factor in Iraq following years of war and unrest. Basketball, Swimming, Weightlifting, Bodybuilding, Boxing, Kick Boxing and Tennis are also popular sports.
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