Kut

Kut offers a decent long day-trip from Baghdad, especially for anyone with an interest in military history, as it was the scene of fierce battles between British and Ottoman forces in WWI. The British Cemetery is in the town centre and reached via a pleasant meandering route through a bustling souk. A key-holder lives nearby and locals will help alert him to the presence of visitors. You can take as long as you like in the cemetery. The key-holder will wait patiently until you have finished your visit and will probably then encourage you to sign the visitors’ book, of which he is very proud.

The Ottoman cemetery, further out of town, is much prettier. A monument and representational headstones nestle amidst palm trees and rose bushes in carefully-tended grounds. The key-holder lives next door.

An hour or so’s drive out of town will take you to the pleasing site of Wasit. On UNESCO’s ‘tentative’ list since 2000, 7th-century Wasit is mostly in ruin and much lies hidden beneath desert encroachment, aside from the elegant gateway. Reached by rough tracks which can turn to mud in winter, rendering the site inaccessible, one can have Wasit almost entirely to oneself, aside from occasional groups of Iraqi youth.

Returning to Kut, the Beit Missan shrine can offer a pleasing diversion, albeit mainly for ladies. Believed to improve the chances of married ladies falling pregnant, the customs visible in the ladies’ side of the shrine are fascinating.

Getting there: We took a share taxi from Allawi bus station but paid for all the seats to have the whole car to ourselves. We took the driver’s number and arranged for him to drive us back to Baghdad at around 5pm. We forgot to make a note of it but we think we probably paid around IQD 80,000 each way.