Holiday Ayo - Maybe for those of you who first heard the word Iraq, what came to your mind was a war that took place in that country. Indeed, Iraq is a country that has been devastated by years of war.

The country has now started carrying out development to return the country to its normal condition. In fact, if you study more deeply, you will find that Iraq is one of the countries on the Asian continent which has many historical tourist attractions that you must visit, especially for those of you who are Muslim.

1. Khorsabad

source: Ministere de la Culture

The first tourist attraction in Iraq is Khorsabad. Khorsabad is basically an ancient city that is more than 2,700 years old, the location of this city is in northeastern Iraq. The thing that makes Khorsabad famous is a very large statue in the form of a winged bull with two heads.

When you first visit Khorsabad, you will feel a sensation of the advanced cultural civilization that existed at that time because how could it be that in this unsophisticated era there were already many buildings with high class architectural designs that are even difficult to build today. Guaranteed you will not regret coming all the way from your place of origin to just witness the beauty of Khorsabad which has been built since 717 or some say has existed since 706 AD.

However, what is unfortunate is that Khorsabad has been completely destroyed due to attacks from ISIS where apart from trying to take over Iraq, they also have a mission to destroy various kinds of historical heritage in the country.

2. Assyrian Lion Statue

source: The Times

The second tourist attraction in Iraq is the Assyrian Lion Statue. Similar to Khorsabad, this place is a historical site owned by the country whose capital is Syria, especially because the location of the Assyrian Lion Statue is located in Syria, which is currently controlled by ISIS.

You need to know that the Assyrian Lion Statue has existed since the 8th century BC, so if we calculate based on the date of its creation you will find that the Assyrian Lion Statue is much older than Khorsabad. Of course, this will further arouse your desire to visit the Assyrian Lion Statue.

When you visit the Assyrian Lion Statue, you will increasingly feel the beauty of this very high and historic art that you cannot even find in other countries of historical sites of the same age. However, several parts of the Assyrian Lion Statue have been destroyed by ISIS troops.

Now, the Assyrian Lion Statue has been moved to the city of Raqqa, where the Assyrian Lion Statue was originally located, namely in Syria or close to Allepo, which even now is still the site of war between allied troops and ISIS troops.

3. Prophet Yunus Mosque

source: Madain Project (en)

The next tourist attraction in Iraq that you must visit is the Prophet Yunus Mosque. This very historic mosque is located in Mosul, which is not far from the walls of Nineveh. We highly recommend a historical place for those of you who are Muslim because you can also trace back the Prophet Yunus.

Apart from that, in the Prophet Yunus Mosque it is also believed that there is a tomb of the Prophet Jonah, which as we all know has even been mentioned in other religions that the Prophet Yunus was a prophet who was tested because he was swallowed by a whale. Of course, this mosque is much more historic than the famous mosque in Turkey and the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin mosque.

The Prophet Yunus Mosque was first built around the 8th century BC, and even now this mosque is one of the oldest and historic sites in the world. The Prophet Yunus Mosque is never empty of visitors because every day there are always visitors from various countries in the world who take the time to visit the Prophet Yunus Mosque as well as remember the journey of the Prophet Yunus in preaching and spreading the Islamic religion.

4. Nimrud

source: BBC

The next tourist spot that we recommend for you to visit is Nimrud. This place was built in the 13th century BC, at which time Nimrud was used as the capital of the new Assyrian empire.

If you search deeper, you will find a very magnificent and historic palace belonging to the Assyrian King named Ashurnasirpal. Apart from that, you will also find several ancient sites that will give the impression that this place is very old.

Many tourists visit here, especially those who like to know history because they want to know what it looks like and what history is stored here. However, what is unfortunate is that several parts of Nimrud have been destroyed by ISIS soldiers, making Nimrud less complete because of the destroyed parts.

Even though many people criticized the actions taken by ISIS to destroy Nimrud, these efforts were no more than a simple rebuke because they had absolutely no impact on the group that had killed and carried out so much destruction.

5. Hatra

source: Storica National Geographic

A tourist attraction which is also a historical city is Hatra. This place is also visited by many tourists or even archaeologists because they are still curious about several parts whose mysteries are still unsolved. Inside Hatra you will find a temple which is a combination of Roman and Hellenistic architecture.

In the past, this city survived the invasion by the Romans in 116 and also in 198 because at that time Hatra was filled with towering walls that surrounded the city. And what is unfortunate is that Hatra has been destroyed to the ground due to indiscriminate attacks from ISIS troops.