Iraq

Welcome to the Lovely Land of Iraq!!
Courtesy of Sarah Beatty and Bobby Billman

File:Flag of Iraq.svg

File:Coat of arms (emblem) of Iraq 2008.svg

Northern Iraq

(Map of Iraq)

Football (Soccer) is one of the most popular sports in Iraq. However there are a number of other sports including: Basketball, wrestling, swimming, etc.

Iraqi Masgouf- one of the most popular dishes in Iraq

FRIENDS		ENEMIES
Saddam era:	No true allies, only countries who cooperate due to fear or countries that simply ignore Iraqi affairs.	Saddam era:	Israel, US, UK, Kuwait, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and many other countries that joined in the coalition
Post Saddam era:	Almost all countries are still very weary due to religious tension and the war.	Post Saddam era:	Israel, UK, Kuwait, Turkey, and others but most countries have taken a less aggressive stance against Iraq.

FUN FACTS:

Population:

28,945,657 (July 2009 est.)

Ethnic groups:

Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian, or other 5%

Religions:

Muslim 97% (Shia 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3%

Languages:

Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Turkoman (a Turkish dialect), Assyrian (Neo-Aramaic), Armenian

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 74.1% male: 84.1% female: 64.2% (2000 est.)

Government type:

parliamentary democracy

Capital:

name: Baghdad geographic coordinates: 33 20 N, 44 23 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

National holiday:

Republic Day, July 14 (1958); note - the Government of Iraq has yet to declare an official national holiday but still observes Republic Day

Agriculture - products:

wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, cotton; cattle, sheep, poultry

Industries:

petroleum, chemicals, textiles, leather, construction materials, food processing, fertilizer, metal fabrication/processing

Exports - commodities:

crude oil 84%, crude materials excluding fuels 8%, food and live animals 5%

Imports - partners:

Syria 30.5%, Turkey 19.8%, US 11.1%, Jordan 5%, China 4.8% (2007)

Climate:

mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraq

Terrain:

mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey

Natural Resources:

petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur

Iraqi National Anthem Lyrics

Arabic Lyrics

مَــوطِــنِــي مَــوطِــنِــي الجـلالُ والجـمالُ والسَّــنَاءُ والبَهَاءُ فـــي رُبَــاكْ فــي رُبَـــاكْ والحـياةُ والنـجاةُ والهـناءُ والرجـاءُ فــي هـــواكْ فــي هـــواكْ هـــــلْ أراكْ هـــــلْ أراكْ سـالِماً مُـنَـعَّـماً و غانما مكرما سالما منعما و غانما مكرما هـــــلْ أراكْ فـي عُـــلاكْ تبـلُـغُ السِّـمَـاكْ تبـلـغُ السِّـمَاك مَــوطِــنِــي مَــوطِــنِــي مَــوطِــنِــي مَــوطِــنِــي الشبابُ لنْ يكِلَّ هَمُّهُ أنْ تستَقِـلَّ أو يَبيدْ نَستقي منَ الـرَّدَى ولنْ نكونَ للعِــدَى كالعَـبـيـــــدْ كالعَـبـيـــــدْ لا نُريــــــدْ لا نُريــــــدْ ذُلَّـنَـا المُـؤَبَّـدا وعَيشَـنَا المُنَكَّـدا ذُلَّـنَـا المُـؤَبَّـدا وعَيشَـنَا المُنَكَّـدا لا نُريــــــدْ بـلْ نُعيــــدْ مَـجـدَنا التّـليـدْ مَـجـدَنا التّليـدْ مَــوطِــنــي مَــوطِــنِــي مَــوطِــنِــي مَــوطِــنِــي الحُسَامُ و اليَـرَاعُ لا الكـلامُ والنزاعُ رَمْــــــزُنا رَمْــــــزُنا مَـجدُنا و عـهدُنا وواجـبٌ منَ الوَفا يهُــــــزُّنا يهُــــــزُّنا عِـــــــزُّنا عِـــــــزُّنا غايةٌ تُـشَــرِّفُ و رايـةٌ ترَفـرِفُ يا هَـــنَــاكْ فـي عُـــلاكْ قاهِراً عِـــداكْ قاهِـراً عِــداكْ مَــوطِــنِــي مَــوطِــنِــي

Latin Alphabet Transliteration (phonetic) mawṭinī mawṭinī al-ǧalālu wa-l-ǧamālu wa-s-sanā'u wa-l-bahā'u fī rubāk fī rubāk wa-l-ḥayātu wa-n-naǧātu wal-hanā'u wa-r-raǧā'u fī hawāk fī hawāk hal arāk hal arāk sālimān munaʿamān wa ġānimān mukarramān sālimān munaʿamān wa ġānimān mukarramān hal arāk fī ʿulāk tabluġu s-simāk tabluġu s-simāk mawṭinī mawṭinī mawṭinī mawṭinī aš-šabābu lan yakilla hammahu an yastaqilla aw yabīd, aw yabid nastaqī mina r-radá wa lan nakūna li-l-ʿidā' kālʿabīd, kālʿabīd lā nurīd lā nurīd ḏullanā al-mu'abbada wa ʿayšanā al-munakkada ḏullanā al-mu'abbada wa ʿayšanā al-munakkada lā nurīd bal nuʿīd maǧdanā t-talīd maǧdanā t-talīd mawṭinī mawṭinī mawṭinī mawṭinī al-ḥusāmu wa-l-yarāʿu lā l-kalām wa-n-nizāʿu ramzunā ramzunā maǧdunā wa ʿahdunā wa wāǧibun ilá l-wafā' yahuzzunā yahuzzunā ʿizzunā ʿizzunā ġāyâtun tušarrifu wa rāyâtun turafrifu ġāyâtun tušarrifu wa rāyâtun turafrifu yā hanāk fī ʿulāk qāhirān ʿidāk qāhirān ʿidāk mawṭinī mawṭinī

English Translation My homeland, My homeland Glory and beauty, Sublimity and splendor Are in your hills, Are in your hills Life and deliverance, Pleasure and hope Are in your air, Are in you Air Will I see you? Will I see you? Safe and comforted, Sound and honored Will I see you in your eminence? Reaching to the stars, Reaching to the stars My homeland, My homeland My homeland, My homeland The youth will not tire, 'till your independence Or they die We will drink from death And will not be to our enemies Like slaves, Like slaves We do not want, We do not want An eternal humiliation Nor a miserable life We do not want But we will bring back Our storied glory, Our storied glory My homeland, My homeland The sword and the pen Not the talk nor the quarrel Are our symbols, Are our symbols Our glory and our covenant And a duty to be faithful Moves us, moves us Our glory, Our glory Is an honorable cause And a waving standard O, behold you In your eminence Victorious over your enemies Victorious over your enemies My homeland, My homeland

Links to current events articles:
Political: New York Times report on Iraq
Economic: A nice article by the Economist on the Iraqi economy and oil
Cultural/Entertainment: New York Times reports on Iraqi life (Yay cock fights)