Qandil Mountains

The Kurdistan region adjacent to the Iran-Iraq border has a range of the Qandil Mountains. This part of the mountainous area belongs to the Zagros mountain range. By nature, the area is extremely rugged terrain and hard to access. The Kuhe Haji Ebrahim Mountain is the highest peak in Qandil Mountains, has an elevation of 3,587 meters a subrange of the Zagros Mountains. The Kuhe Ebrahim Mountain range is sit in Western Iran and Eastern Iraq in Western Asia. The Qandil Mountains sprawling several high summits, a clutter of interlocking peaks and plateaus, is snow-covered for much of the year, and further up the mountain, there are deciduous forests.

The region is noteworthy as a sanctuary and headquarters for the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party). This is about 5,000 PKK and other armed factions control an area of approximately 50 km². However, which has been at irregular intervals bombarded by the Turkish Air Force and shelled by Iranian military artillery for some years. The Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) is also based in Qandil, which lets them infiltrate into Iran. The Turkish military carries out operations in the Qandil mountains where they believed PKK are hiding. Turkish military believed Qandil Mountains are a safe place for Turkey and no more doubt in them. However, the bulk of the Qandil Mountains itself is in Iranian territory.

 

The Great Mosque of Samarra, Iraq

The Great Mosque of Samarra is the most prominent structure, spiraling up from the ground. The Great Mosque of Samarra is located in Samarra city, in Iraq, about 120 km north of Baghdad, on the banks of river Tigris. It is known as malwiya, this 180 foot tower was the main focal point of Mosque. The snail shell minaret covered 42 acres as its peak and 108 feet wide with a spiral ramp. The eye-catching Mosque was built in 9^th century by Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakkil who reigned (in Samarra) from 847 until 861. In the 12^th century, the Mosque was gradually destroyed and fell into disuse after Hulagu Khan's invasion of Iraq.

However, only the outer wall and its minaret remained. The great mosque had 17 aisles, and its walls were paneled with mosaics of dark blue glass, the art and architecture of the mosque were influential; stucco carvings within the mosque in floral and geometric designs represent early Islamic decoration. The Great Mosque was spread over an area of 17 hectares; the building itself covered 38,000 square meters. The Mosque surrounding courtyard was a triple portico with octagonal columns. The practitioners could walk through the gates to enter into the interior with its dense grid of pillars and teakwood roof. Thus, over each entrance were numerous arched windows, and in between the towers, square niches were placed along its facade.

The Malwiya Minaret initially constructed with sandstone, used for the "call to prayer". Although, its height made it more prominent and it is visible from a considerable distance in the area around Samarra and therefore may have been designed as a strong visual statement of the presence of Islam in the Tigris Valley. The minaret's unique spiral design was given a new life during the war in Iraq, as US troops used it for observation. Sadly, in 2005, the famous minaret was partially destroyed during a bombing raid by insurgents. After 1000 years of proudly standing in the medieval Abbasid capital, it finally began to crumble under the firepower of modern weaponry. Therefore, the lifespan of the minaret could be dramatically shortened given the uncertain and unstable political situation in Iraq. Moreover, the mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo, Egypt was based on the Samarra mosque in many regards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taq-e-Kasra The Arch of Ctesiphon

The ancient city of Ctesiphon (Also known Tusbun or Taysafun) on the banks of Tigris, in Baghdad established in the late 120s BC. The city is located about 35 kilometers southeast of modern Baghdad actually one of the great cities of late ancient Mesopotamia and the largest city in the world from 570 AD, until its fall in 637 AD. So during the Muslim conquest the only surviving structure of Ctesiphon these days is the majestic vaulted hall of Taq Kasra, which served as the palace of the Sasanian king Khosrow I, in the late 6th century. The archway is one of the biggest single-span vaults of unreinforced brickwork in the world. The exact time of construction is not known with conviction. However, it is believed that construction possibly started during the reign of Khosrau I after a campaign against the Byzantines in 540 AD.

Mithradates was founded Ctesiphon, “the King of Parthian Empire” as a royal residence, after he annexed Babylonia by defeating the Greeks. Therefore, under the Parthian rule, Ctesiphon became the political and commercial center of the region, and by the end of 58 BC, it had become the Empire’s capital. Progressively, the city was merged with the old Hellenistic capital of Seleucia and other adjacent settlements to form a cosmopolitan metropolis. Moreover, in the 2nd century, the tug-o-war of power between the Romans and the Parthians affected Ctesiphon to change hands between the two Empires for a total of six times. 

Though the obliteration of the palace is blamed on different individuals by numerous sources, Abbasid caliph Al-Mansur (754-775) is most usually mentioned. However, during the last possession, the Romans kick out and looted the city, demolished palaces and carried off thousands of its inhabitants as slaves. Consequently, in 226 AD, the city fell into the hands of the Sasanian Empire, and Ctesiphon prospered once again. The oldest occupied places of Ctesiphon were on its eastern side, which in Arabic sources is named "the Old City", where the residence of the Sasanians, identified as the White Palace, was located. The southern side of Ctesiphon was recognized as Aspanbar, which was acknowledged by its protuberant halls, riches, games, stables, and baths. 

Thus, after another short-lived occupation of the city by the Romans, the Sasanian king Khosrau I recuperated control over Ctesiphon. He then underway building a large palace complex with a large vaulted arch that is 37 meters tall and 26 meters across. The arch top is about one meter thick while the walls at the base are up to seven meters thick. Up to modern times, it was the largest, unverified vault in the world. Besides, after the Arabs took Ctesiphon in 637 AD, they improvised the palace as a mosque until the area was slowly abandoned. Hence, by the end of 8th century, Ctesiphon had been superseded by the lately founded city of Baghdad, and Ctesiphon’s deserted ruins were used as a quarry for building materials. Consequent floods demolished all remaining structures, including Taq Kasra, one third of which was swept away by a flood in 1888.

Henceforth, the striking brick ruin of Taq Kasra is now all that remains above ground of a city that was, for 7 centuries the main capital of the Iranian successor dynasties of the Parthians and Sassanids. In the 1980’s the archway rebuilt process was started by Saddam Hussein's government when the fallen northern wing was moderately rebuilt. Therefore, all works somehow stopped after the 1991 Gulf War. In 2003, before the US-led invasion the area boasted gardens and arbores, as well as a popular museum. In 2004, the Global Heritage Fund said that, as a result of disrepair, the arch was “in danger of collapse”. Taq-e-Kisra was neglected for a long time and decided to rehabilitate it. However, the current Iraqi government is cooperating with the University of Chicago's "Diyala Project" to revive its reputation as a tourism hub has proceeded in fits and starts.