1 april 2007

Hey-
Wanted to share a couple pictures with you guys; let you see what part of the town looks like. I know when I arrived here I had no idea what the city was going to look like, and a lot of it really surprised me.
The first picture is looking across the bridge spanning the Euphrates that we took the Bradleys across (somewhat skeptical if it would hold the weight). This is the only bridge in the area that crosses the river, so it is very important to us that it remains intact and safe. Along the Euphrates is quite a sight; first off there are actually things growing! Some of the houses along the river are amazing, and have a spectacular view. Not everyone can say their house overlooks a river believed to be one of the oldest in the world. The far bank is lined with palm groves; however, once beyond the groves, vegitation quickly dies out.
Pic #2 is looking up river towards what most of us believe are the ruins of an ancient Roman foot bridge. Iraq was part of the Roman Empire until sometime in the 8th century AD, when the spread of Islam began the collapse of the Eastern Roman Empire, and would spread as far west as Venice, North Africa and eventually parts of Spain. It is amazing to be seeing such sights, but the ruins also bring to mind an interesting question; since the ousting of the Romans, how much has actually changed? This town is a culture shock all of its own, as the people here live both in the 21st and 8th centuries; most houses have electricity, a satellite dish for cable tv, cars in the garage, and children go to school, however the people still wear the same garb as they did back then (robes and sandals), and the culture hasn't changed much since the invasion of Islam. Everywhere you look is a collision of two worlds, two very different periods of time.
Pic 3 is one of the mosques we can see from a building we occupy in town, as well as part of the street. It doesn't quite give the full picture of what the streets in town look like; most of them have much more trash.
The last pic is of the mosque right across the street from our outpost in town. This is the one that blares the "call to prayer" into our windows 5 times a day. You can see the speakers about 3/4 of the way up the spire. This pic offers a more typical view of the buildings that line the streets.
On further escapades through the city, I'll try to get some pictures that give an accurate representation of what it looks like on the streets or in the market.
Hope you enjoy a glimpse of our town!

More to follow soon,
Troy