Sunday funday on the Tigris River

I love this image as it reminds me of something I saw in the Palestinian territory - pull back the security walls and see the real Iraq.

The highlights of the day were a visit to the Abbasid Palace dating back to 1181 and built along the banks of the Tigris. The decorative architecture is just remarkable.

Across the Tigris is the Green Zone as well as Haifa Street which was a major battle area with Al Qaeda. Even the palace had some damage from random shelling and bullets.

And after a delicious syrupy pastry stop for breakfast and falafels for lunch we ended up once again on the banks of the Tigris for an open pit cooked carp dinner - masgouf. The national meal of Iraq. 

We did a short boat trip on the Tigris yesterday and I am hopeful the carp is not freshly caught there. We are told there are farms elsewhere on the Tigris. Certainly a unique cooking style - opening the cavity up and standing on its side. Preparation was pretty simple. Just some light seasoning and served with bread, greens, mango syrup and bitter orange slices.