Clyde

3.50 Malta - 13-May-25 -

I visited this WHS in September 2024. Samarra lies on the east bank of the Tigris river and it was founded in 836 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mutasim as a new administrative capital and military base. Since the WHS is made up of 10 loosely named locations, it was hard to tell whether I covered all or most of them during a full day exploring Samarra and its surroundings. During the Iraqi Civil War (2006-2008), Samarra was in the "Sunni Triangle" of resistance and even now, the military personnel at checkpoints wear different uniforms and fly different "religious/political" flags.

Ever since the end of Iraqi civil war in 2007, the Shia population of the holy city has increased exponentially and acts of violence and terror are quite common in the area. The city is also home to the al-Askari Shrine, containing the mausolea of the 10th and 11th Shia Imams, as well as the place from where Muhammad al-Mahdi, known as the "Hidden Imam". is believed by the Twelver Shias to have entered a state of occultation. This has made it an important pilgrimage centre for the Imami Shias. For non-Muslims, the mosques of Najaf and Karbala are for more interesting both for their interior as well as their exterior architecture.

The obvious highlights are its two spiral minarets and what remains of their mosques. At the time of its construction, the Great Mosque of Samarra was the world's largest mosque. Its spiral minaret, known as Malwiya (meaning "leaning"), is 52 metres high with 6 levels of a spiralling staired ramps, and although an iron railing has been installed, climbing is no longer allowed and the whole site is out of bounds due to ongoing restoration works. Originally this spiral minaret was connected to the mosque by a bridge. Depending on your fixer/agency, the guard on duty will let you in and somewhat closer to the spiral minaret for a short while, otherwise all other local or foreign visitors will want the same treatment. I kept my eyes peeled for any possible UNESCO WHS plaque but all I could find was a makeshift painted sign in Arabic claiming it's a WHS with a poorly painted UNESCO logo.

The other spiral minaret and its mosque, known as Abu Dulaf, lie in a less urban and a more pleasant desert environment. It is completely unguarded, with no protective fence or lights for night time, so much so that it was one of the only places in Iraq where I saw a few small vandalistic graffiti. The spiral minaret is 32 metres high with 4 levels of spiralling staired ramps, and although no railing has been installed and the spiral stepped ramp is much narrower, climbing it is still possible. At first, I limited myself to exploring the huge remaining rectangular perimiter of the mosque and its several arches. Then, I plucked up some courage convincing myself that it was literally a "now or never" moment, and climbed to the top to take in the view. Being quite windy when I visited, and since being tall with a large shoe size does not help in such circumstances, I simply hugged the spiral minaret all the way up and down. The view from the top is absolutely worth it but I only made it because I was alone all the way up and down. During times of conflict, this minaret apparently was used by snipers, which is why a drone attack is said to have blasted its pinnacle. 

The city of Samarra was further developed under Caliph al-Mutawakkil, who sponsored the construction of lavish palace complexes, such as that of al-Mutawakkiliyya. Unfortunately, only a few mud brick walls and foundations remain of such palace complexes and sometimes it was very hard to tell which were the remains of palace complexes and which were the remains of Abbasid walls. Then, closer to the Malwiya minaret, there are fully-blown or partial reconstruction attempts from Saddam Hussein's time till nowadays, such as for example the reconstructed circular pool surrounded by reception halls of Dar al-Khilafa, also known as the Abbasid Pool Palace, built by Al-Mutasim. The tall white-washed corridors adorned by fully reconstructed (new) geometric and floral stucco reliefs hint at how these palaces once resembled the better preserved ones found in Baghdad. Another reconstructed fortress-like palace close to the Malwiya minaret and mosque, found on the western bank of the Tigris river, is that of Qasr al-'Ashiq. The rectangular building consists of two floors, one of them used as catacombs and vaults. It is surrounded by large yards, which in turn are surrounded by walls. From the outside, this reconstructed fortress-like Abbasid palace is like a much smaller and paler version of the Al-Ukhaidir Fortress, listed as a separate tentative WHS.

All in all, I really enjoyed all Samarra had to offer and although the main not-to-be-missed components are the spiral minarets and what remains of their mosques, the other components/locations complement this Abbasid WHS. Unfortunately information boards are non-existant in Samarra but if you read up before and after your visit, you'll clearly understand the OUV of this WHS.

Els Slots

3.50 The Netherlands - 24-Apr-25 -

Although best known for its Spiral Minaret, Samarra is much more. It’s the archaeological site of a city that was the short-lived capital of the Abbasids. They built it as a planned city in the countryside, away from the populace of Babylon, to create “a new royal culture revolving around sprawling palatial grounds, public spectacle and a seemingly ceaseless quest for leisurely indulgence". Consider it an early version of one of those new capitals that you also see in Brazil (Brasilia), Indonesia (Nusantara), Myanmar (Naypyidaw). The site is spread across 10 locations in and around the modern city of Samarra, and several of those were visitable in April 2025, although the checkpoint density still is higher here than elsewhere in Iraq.

We started at the Great Mosque. It lies in a particularly ugly patch of the city, almost like an industrial estate. A rope prevented us from coming too close and entering either the mosque or the minaret. The latter, shaped like a Mesopotamian ziggurat, is still picture-perfect. Of the mosque, not much else remains than the outer walls. Both are subject to a restoration project (the official reason given for not being allowed to enter), but no work seemed to be ongoing.

When you go out of the city and cross into the desert, the remains of the Abbasid city walls can still be seen clearly. We drove on for some 15km to the Abu Dalaf mosque. I enjoyed it tremendously from the start: its row of arches and spiral minaret just appear on the horizon in the desert landscape. This mosque was built by a later Abbasid Caliph than the “Great” one, but the minaret has the same design (only slightly smaller). You’re still allowed to climb this one, but I did not get far as it is narrow and windy. The adjoining open-air grounds of the mosque are intact and massive. It’s a lovely place to explore on your own and I had to be coaxed back onto the bus…

Finally, we went to the Grand Palace (Dar al-Khilafa). Although this looks like a construction site from the outside, quite some progress in restoration/reconstruction has been made here to turn it into a recognizable Abbasid palatial structure (similar to what you find in Old Baghdad). Some of the halls are (re)decorated with geometrical and floral stucco designs. 

Like most other Iraqi WHS, Samarra is still on the Danger list and they seem to have trouble finding a way out. The site is so large that they don’t know where to start, and the vast area with limited oversight also invites encroachment. In 2023, there has been a Reactive Monitoring Mission to the site by ICOMOS, which found it needed "to develop an overall comprehensive conservation planning framework with a clear conservation approach". As elsewhere in Iraq, they'd also need to deal with parts that had been heavily reconstructed in the past, stop further reconstruction work and stick to using materials and techniques that are compatible with the original ones. At inscription, restoration work overall was considered to have been in accordance with international standards. There were some reinforced concrete solutions at the Great Mosque from the Saddam era, but those have now mostly been removed. Also, the circular basin at the Grand Palace was a complete reconstruction from that period - they now try to "fix" this by adding a layer with more appropriate materials, but that of course alters the original shape of the structure even more.

Read more from Els Slots here.

Szucs Tamas

1.50 Hungary - 29-Sep-23 -

In theory Samarra could be a very interesting site. This is the only islamic site of Iraq, so its imporatance in Iraqi culture in unquestionable. . Samarra was the capital of the Abbasid caliphate from 836 CE, when Caliph Al-Mu'tasim founded a new capital at the banks of the Tigris, till 892, when al-Mu'tadid returned the capital to Baghdad. The period between these dates was one of the most dramatic, turbulent  half century in the history of the caliphate. Majestic buildings were erected and events that are crucial in the formation modern Iraq (and the Shi'ite world) happened here. (The death of the 12th and the occultation of the 13th imam.) On the other hand Samarra is not far from Baghdad, an easy day trip on the northern motorway. This is the theory.

The reality is, that Samarra is even now not the most welcoming city in Iraq. The population is predominantly Sunni, but the law enforcement is provided by a Sadrist Shi'ite militia (Saraya al-Salam - their emblem, the peace dove is ubiquitous on grafitties in the city). There are no such restrictions now, that Wojciech described, tourists can enter the area after identity check, without leaving the passports with the militiamen,  but - unlike in Baghdad or other major cities - you can still feel the tension in the air. The most illustrious - and best kept up - building in the city, the al-Askeri moque is not part of the World Heritage Site - understandably by the way, it's heavily reconstructed, and constantly embellished as the other main mosques of Iraq, Tourists are allowed to enter the mosque - after a lot of differenc security checks. The WH area is the former capital - what remained of it.

Most of the components however are not accessible. The most important, and most photographed of these remains is the Great Mosque - not to be confused with the al-Askeri mosque.  At the time of construction, it was the world's largest mosque. It is known for its 52 metres high minaret encircled by a spiral ramp. It's in the outskirts of the city, in a relatively rundown neighbourhood. I really do not know whether it's officially open or not. The big iron door was closed, but our guide could make the guards open it. They collected the official 25 000 IQD entrance fees, but we did not get tickets. The souvenir stall however  - where you can buy the miniature replicas of the minaret - hints that sometimes people show up there to visit the site, however when we were there we were alone. Even one or two years ago it was possible to climb the minaret, and make pictures from above. Now it's forbidden, and the minaret is fenced off, as it is visible on the picture above. As the mosque itself is nothing more than  the wqalls and smoe colummn bases,  the whole visit can't last more than 15-20 minutes. 

Wojciech Fedoruk

3.00 Poland - 28-Nov-21 -

Samarra is a true symbol of Iraq. The spiral minaret of the Great Mosque is perhaps the most famous monument in this country, more famous than the monuments of Babylon. Although Samarra is quite close to Baghdad, it has been virtually inaccessible for many years. The reason was primarily security concerns - Samarra is an extremely important place for Shi'ite Islam. Even now, in November 2021, Samarra is under special protection - when entering, at the checkpoint on the main road, we had to leave our passports and pick them up on the way back.

Samarra's UNESCO inscription contains many places, but there is no doubt that its focal point is the ruins of the 1,200-year-old Grand Mosque (once the largest in the world), which includes a wonderfully reconstructed spiral minaret. You can climb this minaret and admire the ruins of the Grand Mosque from above, just be careful not to fly down - there are no barriers (the top of the minaret has been destroyed), and the wind blows very hard! There is an entrance fee of IQD 25,000 (~USD 17) but it is worth paying - the site is quite well preserved. You can even buy a souvenir - a small replica of the spiral minaret.

Samarra was taken by the Islamic State, but for a very short time and these barbarians did not manage to seriously destroy anything - Shi'ite mosques were practically intact. In Samarra, we also visited another monument that cannot be missed - the Al-Askari mosque (top right photo), one of the holiest Shi'ite sites, with the tombs of two Shi'ite imams. The Al-Askari Mosque was not as lucky as the Grand Mosque, because it fell victim to bomb attacks twice in 2006-2007, among others destroyed its dome. I do not know how the Iraqis managed to rebuild it, but as I give you my word, there is no trace of any attacks. The mosque itself is simply breathtaking.

athena

Iraq - 25-Mar-10 -

In 1975 we visited Samarra and we were astounded by the spiral minaret which stand out prominently in the desert surroundings. Climbing on the spiral outside staircase, was interesting and our guide said, the higher you climb, the luckier you get! The mosque nearby was admirable, so my Italian husband said and the view from the top was breathtaking, as the ruins from afar were clearly seen

A great experience.