Iraq - Samarra Archaeological City

"Samarra Archaeological City is the site of a powerful Islamic capital city that ruled over the provinces of the Abbasid Empire extending from Tunisia to Central Asia for a century. Located on both sides of the River Tigris 130 km north of Baghdad, the length of the site from north to south is 41.5 km; its width varying from 8 km to 4 km. It testifies to the architectural and artistic innovations that developed there and spread to the other regions of the Islamic world and beyond. The 9th-century Great Mosque and its spiral minaret are among the numerous remarkable architectural monuments of the site, 80% of which remain to be excavated." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Postcard 1
Spiral Tower of Samarra. Thanks to Milad of Iraq.

Postcard 2
A multi-view Iraq postcard showing at top right corner the minaret of Great Mosque of Samarra. Nice bird stamps. Postcard sent on Dec 4, 2009 from Erbil, in Kurdistan region of northern Iraq and arrived in Penang on Jan 17, 2010. Thanks to Chris who was visiting Iraq.