Iraq

By Shelby Dowda
4/4/16

Imagine having to wear a long black dress, which covers every

part of your body except your eyes, in the baking hot sun. In Iraq
that is exactly what women are to wear every day. In Iraq the
women are said to have more freedom than any other country in
the world but to me it does not seem so. The capitol of Iraq is
Baghdad and it has been under the presidency of Fuad Masum
since 2014. The population is 32,585,692 as of 2014.
Iraq is located in Western Asia with Turkey to the north, Syria
and Jordan to the west, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to the south, and
Iran on the east. Iraq has four general geographic zones. The first
is deserts where there are mainly nomads. The second is northern
highlands which are mostly Kurds. The last two are alluvial plains
and rolling uplands.
Iraq has two major rivers and two main mountains. The two
major rivers are the Tigris and Euphrates which start in the

mountains of Turkey and flow into Iraq. The rivers flow almost
parallel for 500 miles and then join to form Shatt al Arab. The
rivers have land in between them which is called Mesopotamia
which means land between the rivers. The two main mountains
are the Zagros Mountains and Taurus mountains.
Some history in Iraq includes the start of the Persian Gulf War
and the world wars. In 1914 World War I began and it ended in
1918. Iraq was taken over by the British in 1917 but in 1920 there
was a rebellion against the British rule and in 1932 Iraq became an
independent state. Between 1939 and 1945 World War II transpired
and the British regained control of Iraq. In 1980 the Iran-Iraq war
commenced. After the war, Saddam Hussein used chemical and
biological weapons to wipe out Kurdish villages and five-thousand
people were killed. In 1990 Kuwait was invaded by Iraq which
started the Persian Gulf War.

There are many languages spoken in Iraq but there is one

main religion. Iraq is considered a Muslim country. There are two
branches of Islam which are the Shias and Sunnis. The Shias
Muslims believe that just as a prophet is appointed by God alone,
only God has the prerogative to appoint the successor to his
prophet. They believe God chose Ali to be Muhammad's
successor, infallible, the first caliph of Islam. Sunnis chose Abu
Bakr, the prophet's adviser, to become the first successor, or
caliph, to lead the Muslim state. Shiites favored Ali, Muhammad's
cousin and son-in-law. The two main languages spoken are Arabic
and Kurdish.
The currency in Iraq is called the Iraqi Dinar. 1 US dollar is
worth 1107.10 Iraqi Dinar. The national dish of Iraq is called
Masgouf which is basically impaled fish. Masgouf is usually
served with flatbread, lime/lemon, slices of onion, and Iraqi

pickles. The national cookie is called Kleicha which means circle

or wheel. Honey is an important source of food to the Iraqis.
Sports in Iraq include kickboxing, wrestling, weightlifting, and
football which is called soccer here in America. In 1948 Iraq
participated in its first Olympic games and in 1960, at the games in
Rome, they won one bronze medal for weightlifting. The medal
was won by a man named Abdul Wahid Aziz. Dance is also a big
thing in Iraq. The main traditional dance is called Hachaa which is
like belly dancing but with less hip movement and more neck and
hand motion. In order to do this dance a women must have long
hair since the dance requires the swinging of her hair.
Some random facts about Iraq are that it has two different
days that are to celebrate New Years. The first is called Muharram
which is on the first day of the Muslim calendar and the second is
on December 31st of the Gregorian calendar. Marriages are usually

arranged for the people in Iraq by their parents. More than half of
all brides marry their 1st or 2nd cousin. In Iraq it is offensive to use
your left hand around other people. The left hand is considered
unclean. If you pick a piece of bread off of a public plate with your
left hand the whole plate of food will immediately be thrown away
and a new one will substitute it. It is not rude to eat fast or without
utensils but it is extremely rude to have a dog near a table where a
meal is being served.
If I had the opportunity to go to Iraq I truly think I wouldnt go.
Even though it sounds like an interesting country I dont believe I
would want to go with all the trauma that is happening with ISIS. I
chose to do Iraq for my report because this is where my cousin
Blake Burkheart was stationed on his first deployment.

Bibliography
Factmonster.com
Quora.com
Blogspot.com
Fact.randomhistory.com
Bollinger, Dennis. Cultural Geograph.print