Mohammed Ali Sadiq Mohsen
Under the supervision of Asst. Lect. Ali Khalil Ibrahim Shamto

Tourism in Basra: The most prominent landmark

The heritage architecture in this province is distinguished by being an extension of the Baghdadi architectural style in terms of functional performance, aesthetic character and use of materials, but it has local characteristics that distinguish it from the architecture of other major cities subject to the Baghdadi style such as Baghdad, Hillah and Najaf, and among these features are the external brick columns and the density in the use of woodwork in the facades and mashrabiyas and the use of heavy metal decorations. The Abu Al-Khaseeb area includes the largest heritage palaces in the governorate and the country as a whole, especially those located on the banks of the Shatt Al-Arab and belonging to the Basra district. It can be noted that the main sections are built of brick, while Al-Zubair is unique in its most wonderful wooden works represented by the large, decorated doors and the mashrabiyas. In addition to the above, Basra is rich in a number of archaeological landmarks, including mosques, heritage houses, inns, and old markets that were built in the late periods in the two parts of the current city (Basra and Al-Ashar). In addition to that, the history of the city of Basra is linked to the Al-Murbad market, which is a location in the western part of it, and it was at first a station for caravans that came to the city or left it at the beginning of the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. The market was not limited to the sale and purchase of building and animal goods. The market was, according to Bal, an important literary forum where people met to express their opinions and display their intellectual output. It became a school for Basra residents to receive spiritual nourishment until it became a similar image to the Ukaz market in the Arabian Peninsula, which made the market area a meeting place for many different Arabic dialects. Poetry councils and literary circles were formed in it. In addition to that, the governorate has more than (122) pre-Islamic and Islamic archaeological sites, many of which have not been discovered. Among the most prominent Islamic sites in it are: 1- The Grand Mosque: It is located in the old city of Basra, where the Basra-Zubair road passes through the ruins of the old city of Basra (its ruins can be distinguished by broken bricks, pottery and scattered glass). On the surface of the earth). The remains of the Great Mosque, which is the third mosque built in Islam and the first mosque in Iraq. It was built by the leader Utbah bin Ghazwan from reeds, then it was rebuilt several times with mud bricks, then with marble and stones, then a niche and a minaret were built for it, which is the first minaret built in Iraq and was later called Ali’s Minaret. The importance of this mosque comes from it being the largest mosque in the Islamic world in different eras and periods. The Directorate of Antiquities excavated it and uncovered some of its stone pillars and some of its walls and carried out maintenance work on them. The University of Basra also excavated it and uncovered the walls of the mosque, especially the facade, which was decorated with artistic, engineering and botanical themes of the utmost precision and magnificence, and religious writings in the floral Arabic script whose letters end in plant shapes or take the form of roses and flowers.