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According to geologists, Iraq could be the country with the largest remaining reserves of oil in the world. Exploration showed reserves with about 350 billion barrels. Official statistics base on data gathered in 2001, because no official exploration has been done since military occupation started and may as well be wrong. International geologists estimate that the unexplored territory may even contain larger reserves.

oil reserves ©Flickr richardmasoner

Many former Iraq oil wells are not in use or have been destroyed during the long periods of war. Modernization and investment is needed. The estimated amount of money needed just to maintain current level of production is around $1 billion per year.

The Hands of Victory belong to the main sights in Baghdad. They are sometimes referred to as the Swords of Qādisīyah and consist of a pair of triumphal arches. Each arch is built by two hands holding swords which cross in the center.

The two arches are a memorial of the Iran-Iraq war. 1989, they were opened to the public and belong to Baghdad’s sights.

Babylon was an ancient city-state in the time of Mesopotamia. Its ruins can be found in Al Hillah, Iraq.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon ©Flickr Carla216

Not much remains of the famous Babylon today, but a mound of broken mud-brick buildings. Babylon appears first in history at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. The city grew and gained importance with the first Babylonian Dynasty. It was the Capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire from 612 to 539 BC.

Because of the Ancient Mesopotamian civilizations, the cultural history of Iraq belongs to the world’s oldest. Iraq has famous poets, painters and sculptors which belong to the best in the Arab world.

Isfahan ©Flickr seier+seier

Iraq is also known for the production of carpets. Architecture is best seen in Baghdad, where most of the buildings are rather new constructions, with some old buildings in between in excellent state.

In 2005, the new Constitution defined Iraq as a federal country for the first time. The government was defined as democratic, federal parliamentary and islamic. The government consists of the executive, legislative and judicial branches.

The legislative branch is the Council of Representatives. The Council of Representatives is formed out of one representative per 100,000 Iraqi persons and is the main elected body of Iraq. The members are elected for a four-year period. This council elects the President of Iraq.

The Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra is a symphony orchestra in Baghdad which plays classical European and Arab compositions, including classical Iraqi instruments.

Cello ©Flickr amandabhslater

The orchestra was formerly known as the Baghdad Symphony Orchestra and found in 1944 by Albert Chaffoo. Just two years later, Baghdad Symphony Ochetra was disbanded. Many of its old members later formed what today is known as the Iraqi National Symphony.

Basra has an estimated population of 3,8 million. Basra is Iraq’s main port and, after Baghdad and Mosul, third largest city in Iraq. The city is located at the Shatt al-Arab waterway which leads to the Persian Gulf.

Sunrise Basra ©Flickr البصراوي

Basra’s surrounding area has large petroleum resources and is covered with many oil wells. Inside the city, there is an international airport, which connects Basra with Baghdad via Iraqi Airways. Basra is in an agricultural region. Its major products are wheat and rice. Much of the oil ressources in Basra are unexplored, but they are estimated to be worlds largest.

The state of health in Iraq has changed in the last decades. While 1980 among the best in the Middle East, medical facilities deteriorated and especially the south of Iraq began to suffer from malnutrition and water-borne diseases.

Syring ©Flickr Andres Rueda

In 2005, typhoid, cholera, malaria, and tuberculosis count to common diseases. During the 2003 invasion, approximately 12 percent of hospitals and Iraq’s main public health laboratories were destroyed. Today, sanitary conditions in hospitals are bad and there is need in trained personnel and medications. Per 10,000 population, there are only 15 hospital beds.

In the current state, Iraq does not produce enough electricity to cover the demands. The output of the electricity sector is only about half the amount needed. The demand for electricity has been risen by the growing economy and an increasing number of electronic products. To make things worse, electricity is subsidized in Iraq.

electricity ©Flickr Abdulwahab Alhajji

The power system was not affected by the last conflict, but the capacity had to be reduced due to interruptions of major maintenance cycles. Lack of electricity results in increased morbidity and mortality of the Iraq people, because hospitals are often without electricity.

One of the former main attractions in Baghdad is the National Museum of Iraq. While the outside of the building still looks good compared to other buildings, the content exhibited remains just a shadow of its old glory. Still, it contains precious relics from Mesopotamian civilization but thousands of those relics were looted in 2003 during the Iraq War and about half of the museums former collection is still missing.

National Museum of Iraq ©Flickr salam pax

The remaining collections still are amongst the most important in the world. It contains important artifacts from the over 5,000 year long history of Mesopotamia and with it, of many different civilizations and empires.