In the Land Between Two Rivers

Baghdad, Iraq

May 25, 2023

Arrival in Baghdad was strangely anticlimactic. I knew about the visa on arrival but had expected to be asked for several documents but apparently none were needed. A single form, in English no less, was duly filed out. It disappeared into the back room with the passport and not half hour had passed when out came the passport with the visa. The requisite fee paid and I moved up to the immigration officer. Smiles peppered the few questions and I bounced out at the other end to find my backpack already taken off the carousel. I had not expected the process to be nearly as streamlined or quick.

Mesopotamia is so named because it is the land between (meso) the two rivers (potamas). It is the Tigris and the Euphrates which gave birth to this cradle of human civilization and it is right here in Iraq. I remember it from history books read in school decades ago and wishing I could see it for real. Someday, I had told myself. I can scarcely believe I am here! I cannot wait to begin exploring.