Satisfy your lust in Baghdad (finally!)

by Tom Johansmeyer on

According to the NY Times, Baghdad is getting safer, and people are looking to have a good time (though, this does stand in stark contrast to the suicide bombing I reported a few weeks ago). So, if you find yourself in Iraq‘s capital, stop by a nightclub, order a drink and nail a prostitute. For the best results, go to Saddoun Street, where you’ll have plenty of choices.

Or, you can dash off to Abu Nawas Park for a sexual liaison in one of its many hiding places. Fortunately, the bang you get won’t attract the U.S. Army‘s attention!

After your romp, hit a café to toke a hookah and gamble on dice and dominos. If you win back what you spent on the prostitute … well, it’s like she really wasn’t a prostitute after all!

But, be careful.

Gambling is illegal … whether it’s dice, dominoes or cockfighting. Prostitution is, too. Fortunately, the police have had their hands full with the truly dangerous, so they aren’t going to go “Serpico” on hookers and booze. In fact, prostitutes are a figurative step from being deputized, as they’re the cops’ best sources.

To get in on the carnality, the sticker price is around $100, but you’ll probably spend at least that in drinks just to broach the issue.

Needless to say, the Iraqis are certainly having more fun than the Americans. Locals can pay for the real thing, while U.S. military personnel and civilian contractors can’t even bring their own substitutes for prostitutes. Damned shame.

Of course, vice doesn’t just bring fun and excitement … not even to a place like Baghdad. There have been reports of inappropriate (i.e., criminal) behavior, even under the loose enforcement of these laws. Human trafficking and drug abuse are among the problems being discovered in Iraq, proving that turmoil is constant … it just changes its face.

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[Photos by Brian Sayler]

Ransacked museum reopened in Iraq

by Jamie Rhein on

For anyone who wonders about the importance of the arts and historical places to a culture, head to Warsaw, Poland. Warsaw, after WWII looked a bit like Swiss cheese. An massive effort on the part of the country was made to rebuild or restore some of the important buildings’ as a way to signal that Polish resolve and strength had survived. When I visited there, restoration was still taking place in the historic district.

In Iraq, there is a similar effort going on as shown by the reopening of the National Museum in Bagdad that fell to looting and damage during the American invasion. When an invasion happens, an unprotected museum doesn’t fare well. “Hey, look folks, there’s a whole lot of antiquities and great art for the taking! Yeeehaw!”

Basically, that’s what happened. Priceless artifacts by the thousands were taken on out of there like no body’s business. Some were recovered at the border. Maybe a few folks came to their senses with theft remorse and returned them. At any rate, there is enough in the museum to have it reopen which it recently did, although some say it’s too soon for the items, some dating back 3,000 years, to be seen by the public.

The Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki disagreed with those who said no, are you nuts? He believes that the museum’s reopening, if only for those with special permission to see it–and only on special days is a symbol that “‘We have stopped this black wind, and we have resumed the process of reconstruction.'”

I’m wondering if he has ever been to Warsaw? He could probably relate. The New York Times article gives impressions of those who worked at the museum. They’re with their prime minister. (al-Maliki’s quote is from the article.)

Baghdad or Bust

by Mike Barish on

Here at Gadling, we often have conversations revolving around where we want to travel next. As we run through our lists, inevitably the conversation will turn towards the opposite question. Where wouldn’t you go? The usually hot spots always get named: Iraq, Afghanistan and, of course, Houston in August. But the New York Times featured a group of travelers bold enough to travel to Iraq. And they’re not just a collection of kids who are too naïve to be scared or veterans who have seen danger zones before. Nope. They’re middle-aged and older American citizens with a zest for life and a desire to see the world.

Surprisingly, they found Iraq to be much safer than expected. In fact, they reported feeling completely safe while walking back to their hotel at night without a security escort. They often eschewed the security detail in order to make travel less restrictive.

Neither the tour provider nor insurance companies would provide travel insurance for such an adventure, which is why the travelers tended to be older and financially secure enough to deal with any complications. However, the biggest problems encountered were more nuisances than dangers, such as hours lost at checkpoints.

It sounds like an incredible trip and only strengthened my desire to travel to places that most people avoid. Besides, if people are too scared to go there, you don’t have to worry about being caught in a swarm of tourists. Which means shorter lines at the bathrooms!

So what is on my list of places that I wouldn’t visit? Nothing. I’ll travel anywhere. Well, except for Houston in August. Too damn humid.

[NYT]

Bombs louder than words: Baghdad not ready for tourists

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Despite the availability of civilian flights to Baghdad, the city is not yet ready for tourists. A suicide bomber in central Baghdad killed two and injured another 12 while attacking a police patrol at approximately 2 AM (EST) yesterday. One of my sources on the ground heard the blast and initially thought it was a car bomb (there have been several since the beginning of the year, all audible from the “International Zone,” i.e. the protected part of the city.

Immediately following the blast, which rattled windows in the International Zone, aproximatley 15 seconds of small arms fire ensued. The weapons fire was not the result of a gunfight, he said. Rather, it was the result of an Iraqi policeman firing erratically.

So, while you’re dying to check out the newly opened National Museum, in Baghdad, you may want to hold off for a while.

[Photo by Brian Sayler]

Postwar Iraq gets its “first” tourist

by Jeremy Kressmann on

It’s been over five years since the invasion of Iraq, and the country seems to be slowly emerging from the ruins of five years of conflict. Yet despite the progress, most would agree there’s a long way to go before the country is ready to again welcome “Western” tourism. Random violence remains a real threat and many cities do not have the infrastructure of guest hotels, restaurants and transportation upon which any visitor would depend.

None of this seems to have dissuaded Luca Marchio, an Italian tourist whose random visit to the Iraqi city of Falluja was recently chronicled in the New York Times. The Iraqi police discovered Marchio on a public minibus, without a translator or guide, heading for the notoriously dangerous city of Falluja. The police, fearing for the man’s safety, offered Luca a short tour and then shepherded him back towards the “safer” confines of Baghdad.

When asked of his motivation for visiting the country by the Times, Marchio replied, “I want to see and understand the reality because I have never been here before, and I think every country in the world must be seen.”

Although truer words have never been spoken by a traveler, you have to question Marchio’s timing for his visit. The decision to travel to a formerly war-torn nation is a delicate one, a choice dictated as much by the willingness of that country’s citizens to receive visitors as it is by our willingness travel there. Does that make Marchio an outlier? Or is he a symbolic of a coming tourism boom as Iraq returns to relative peace and prosperity? Only the citizens of Iraq can answer this second question – let’s all hope the answer is eventually “yes.”