Northwestern Iraq

northern portion of region between Tigris and Euphrates rivers, now part of Iraq, Syria and Turkey

Northwestern Iraq (also known as Al-Jazira, Upper Mesopotamia, Assyria, Nineveh, or Ninawa) is a region largely between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the northwestern part of Iraq.

Cities

🌍 Kirkuk - A city located on the step of the Zagros Mountains in Iraq, its the 2nd oldest continously inhabited city in Iraq After Erbil, It's also home to the Famous Kirkuk Castle which is often considered the oldest part of the city. It's nicknamed "small iraq" due to its ethnic diversity of Kurds,Turkmens,Arabs and Assyrians.
🌍 Mosul - The site of Nineveh, the Al-Nuri Mosque, and other sites, nearly all of which were destroyed during the conflict with ISIS.
🌍 Bakhdida - Largest Assysrian town in northern Iraq
🌍 Bartella - A historic Christian town
🌍 Sinjar - Majority Kurdish city near the Syrian border.
🌍 Tal Afar - a largely Iraqi Turkmen town, home to a large Ottoman-era fortress.
🌍 Baiji -
🌍 Tikrit- The birthplace of Saddam Hussein, the former dictator of Iraq. It's also home to many historical sites.

Other destinations

🌍 Assur - UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ruins of the former capital of the Assyrian Empire, the city was founded around 2500 BC and inhabited until the 14th century AD
🌍 Hatra - archaeological UNESCO World Heritage Site, partially destroyed by ISIS in 2015.
🌍 Dur-Sharrukin - Ruins of the former capital of the Assyrian Empire, located in present day Khorsabad.

Understand

Get in

As of 2024, Northwestern Iraq is Moderately safe for travelers. Most of the urban areas have been rebuilt and terrorism is low but avoid rural areas as there is still small isis presence in those regions.

When traveling to Iraqi Kurdistan, you can visit via the Kirkuk-slemani road.

Border crossings

You can realize that you're entering Northwestern Iraq by the flags at the checkpoints. Know the difference between Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan flags.

🌍 Rabia border crossing. Border crossing with Rojava, which is a de facto separate entity from the central government in Syria. (updated Nov 2020)
🌍 Al-Qaim border crossing. Official border crossing with Syria, open since September 2019. (updated Nov 2020)

Get around

You can fly using the Kirkuk international Airport. Fees from Kirkuk to Mosul usually are 46,000 IQD.

See

Although alot of Sites have been destroyed due to the war with ISIS, tons of Others still remain.

Assur

Drink

The drinking age of Iraq is 21.

Stay safe

See the warning on the Iraq article for information on the security situation.

Northwestern Iraq is moderately safe for any travel or sightseeing. The threat of terrorism is low, Most cities have been rebuilt, and landmines are non-existent.

Go next

Article Geo different to Wikidata
Wikivoyage: Latitude 34.53375, Longitude 43.48374 (Map, Geohack)
Wikidata: Latitude 36.467, Longitude 42.100 (Map, Geohack)
Difference: 248.8km

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