Iraq has not always been in tumult. Its long history includes scenes of incredible beauty and grace as well. Here, the Spiral Minaret of Samarra is seen through a broken archway. The minaret is said to be similar in appearance to the Tower of Babel and located in the same area.
Three Lions/Getty
A scene inside the Shorjah market in Baghdad from 1932. (Photo by American Colony/Underwood Archives/Getty Images)
American Colony/Underwood Archives, via Getty
A fisherman throws a net out at sunset on the Euphrates River.
Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty
A modern scene of Baghdad on Oct. 30, 1957.
Keystone/Hulton Archive, Getty
Ashar Creek leading to the Shatt al-Arab near Basra in southern Iraq in 1925. A print from Baghdad, Camera Studio Iraq, published by Hasso Bros, Rotophot AG, Berlin, 1925. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)
Print Collector/Getty
An Arab passenger leans out the window of a train on the Iraq Baghdad Railway (Photographer: Max Ehlert- 1935 Vintage property of ullstein bild)
Max Ehlert/ullstein bild via Getty
But the lure of the forbidden has always been part of Iraq. Here, armed policemen check a Bedouin with his two camels for opium smuggling. (Photo by Max Ehlert/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
Max Ehlert/ullstein bild via Getty
A mausoleum in Baghdad, around 1910. (Photo by Branger/Roger Viollet/Getty Images)
Branger/Roger Viollet/Getty
An Arab shepherd in the Kazimain area, shot sometime between 1917 and 1919.
Print Collector/Getty
The fruit market of Baghdad, where for thousands of years the Bedouins from the desert have bought the fruits of the land. (Photo by Planet News Archive/SSPL/Getty Images)
Planet News Archive/SSPL/Getty
River travel in 1925. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)
Print Collector/Getty
