Portal:Iraq
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The Iraq Portal
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south, Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and Kuwait to the southeast, Jordan to the southwest, and Syria to the west. The country covers an area of 438,317 square kilometres (169,235 sq mi) and has a population of over 46 million, making it the 58th largest country by area and the 31st most populous in the world. Baghdad, home to over 8 million people, is the capital city and the largest in the country. Since independence in 1932, Iraq has experienced spells of significant economic and military growth alongside periods of instability and conflict. It was part of the Ottoman Empire until the end of World War I. Mandatory Iraq was then established by the British in 1921. It transitioned into an independent kingdom in 1932. Following a coup in 1958, Iraq became a republic, first led by Abdul Karim Qasim, followed by Abdul Salam Arif and Abdul Rahman Arif. The Ba'ath Party took power in 1968, establishing a one-party state under Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr and later Saddam Hussein, who presided over war against Iran from 1980 to 1988 and then invaded Kuwait in 1990. In 2003, a U.S.-led coalition forces invaded and occupied Iraq, overthrowing Saddam and triggering an insurgency and sectarian violence. The conflict, known as the Iraq War, ended in 2011. From 2013 to 2017, Iraq faced another war with the rise and defeat of the Islamic State. Today post-war conflict continues at a lower scale, hampering stability alongside the rising influence of Iran. (Full article...) Selected article
.JPG?lang=en) Al Shaab Stadium (Arabic: ملعب الشعب) also known as The People's Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Baghdad, Iraq. It is used mostly for football (soccer) matches and is the home of the Iraq national football team. The stadium has seating for 40,000 fans. It was built in 1966. The opening match featured Iraq and Benfica, for whom Eusébio was playing. Al Shaab Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium (Olympic) in Baghdad, Iraq. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium was a gift to the Iraqi government from the Gulbenkian Foundation. Mr.Calouste Gulbenkian was a Turkish-born Armenian businessman who was a key person in Iraqi oil trade in the 1930s and 1940s. Al Shaab stadium is the home ground of the Iraqi football National team, and it was opened in 1966, the opening game was between Iraq national team and Benfica Football Club from Portugal for whom the legendary Eusébio was playing at those days and he was part of the team during the match. The Iraqi National team did not play in the stadium any international fixture for more than two decades due to security reasons (80’s Iraq- Iran war, 1990 till mid 1990’s embargo and other sanctions on Iraq, 2003 till date Otc. 2008 USA invasion); in 2003 USA invasion to Iraq the stadium was turned to an army base by the United States Army and the stadium was re-qualified in 2007 and national football fixture started taking place since 2007 (FIFA nor any other international organization inspect the stadium to approve it due to security reasons). In 2007 – 2008 Season the League final was between Zawra’a and Arbeel, the match had a record attendance for the new century of 80,000 and ended up with Arbeel winning the title. The Stadium has experienced multiple accidents one of which was the collapse of an exterior wall while fans were trying to climb it to enter a game between two famous local teams (one of them was Al Zawra’a). Some of the fans died in that incident. Al-Zawraa, one of the most successful football clubs in Iraq, also use the stadium for some of their home matches. The stadium is also the final resting place of Ammo Baba, who requested that he be buried there before his death. Selected pictureIraq 1Iraq 2Iraq 3Iraq 4Iraq 5Iraq 6Iraq 7Iraq 8Iraq 9Iraq 10Iraq 11Iraq 12Iraq 13Iraq 14Iraq 15Iraq 16Iraq 17Iraq 18Iraq 19Iraq 20/Monday /Tuesday /Wednesday /Thursday /Friday /Saturday /Sunday Did you know...
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Iraq newsSelected biography
Archbishop Mar Paulos Faraj Rahho was the Chaldean Catholic Archeparch of Mosul, in the northern part of Iraq. He was born into an ethnic Assyrian family and lived almost his entire life in Mosul, Iraq. Rahho came to worldwide attention in 2008 when he was kidnapped by gunmen and subsequently found dead in Mosul, an event that drew condemnation from the Vatican and foreign governments. After his ordination as a priest on June 10, 1965 he briefly worked in Baghdad before being appointed to St. Isaiah's Church in Mosul. Between in 1976, Rahho completed his religious studies in Rome. Rahho later founded the church of the Sacred Heart in Tel Keppe. He also opened an orphanage for handicapped children there. On 12 January 2001, he was elected archbishop of the Archeparchy of Mosul. Late on 29 February 2008 Archbishop Rahho was kidnapped and his bodyguards and driver were killed. The kidnappers demanded Christians contribute to the jihad, through jizya. The captors also demanded the release of Arab (Non-Iraqi) detainees and that they be paid three million dollars for Rahho's release. The kidnappers also demanded that Iraqi Christians form a militia to fight the US forces. On 13 March 2008, the Archbishop's body had been found buried in a shallow grave near Mosul. An official of the morgue in Mosul said the archbishop, who had health problems, including high blood pressure and diabetes, might have died of natural causes. Police at the Mosul morgue said the Archbishop "appeared to have been dead a week and his body bore no bullet wounds". Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho is believed to be the highest-ranking Chaldean Catholic clergyman to have been killed in the current Iraq war. The funeral services were held in the town of Karamlesh, with Chaldean Catholic Cardinal Emmanuel Delly in presence. Quotes
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