In 750 AD the Abbasid Caliphate took over the power with modern day Iraq being their center. They ruled over large parts of the middle east for more than 500 years and erected a bunch of impressive buildings like palaces, schools, mosques and fortresses to showcase their wealth and power. One of the most outstanding examples that is still largely intact today is the Ukhaidir Fortress near Karbala.
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How to get to Ukhaidir Foprtress
There is no public transport connecting Ukhaidir Fortress with any nearby city such as Karbala. Your only chance is by visiting with a private car or – more likely – using a taxi. The Fortress is about 50km outside of Karbala and you should be able to find a driver for this day trip for less than 50 USD.
Where to stay
No hotels around, so your best bet is staying over night in Karbala and visit as a daytrip. Hopefully one day the Fortress can serve partly as a hotel to spend a night in such a historic place.
Where to Find Ukhaidir
Best Things To Do
1. Visit Ukhaidir Fortress
Ukhaidir Fortress was built in the 8th century as a castle and served as a residence for the prince after his reign. The building is surrounded by an impressive perimeter wall that is up to 20m high with regular defense structures such as embrasures and tower-like annexes typical for the Abbasid architecture as we can find similar styles in buildings in Baghdad or Samarra.
After the main entrance you will find the palace with the living rooms, a large courtyard and a mosque all surrounded by a second protective wall. You can easily get lost in the maze of narrow paths, staircases and rooms that are somehow connected to each other. Exploring Ukhaidir Fortress gives you that Indiana Jones feeling.
At some point we discover a set of stairs on the ground floor leading to the vault of the palace. Being curious we make our way down the stairs. There is no light, so the phone flashlight has to suffice. All of a sudden a loud squeeking leaves us startled. We must have surprised a sleeping swarm of bats that all woke up and tries to flee the vault at once. Though i can barely spot a single creature in the dark at that time, i can literally feel them passing by very close to my face by the wind of their wings.
Probably we have been some of the first tourists to enter that vault in a long long time. Ukhaidir doesn’t see a lot of tourists.
Besides our surprise encounter with bats we find a storage room full of canon balls covered by a thick layer of dust. I wonder when and for what purpose they were used last?
Because Ukhaidir wasn’t used much after the downfall of the Abbasid Caliphate in the 13th century. The building was left empty for centuries, only to serve occasianally as a storage and place to rest for wandering bandits. That was also the case during the instable years after the US invasion in 2003.
The many years of neglect pose a great threat to such a structure. Desert climate paired with a rather high salanity of the air dry the walls out and make them porous. Only at the end of the 20th century people started to protect the structure of Ukhaidir acknowledging its historic value. Also UNESCO categorized the Fortress as a World Heritage since 2000. Unfortunately all efforts for restaurantion had to come to a hold due to instability in the region after 2003.
One of the things you can do in Ukhaidir is to take a walk along the ramparts and enjoy the view. A view to the vast emptiness of the desert outside. A view to the majestic emptyness of this beautiful fortress inside. Both directions are equally spectacular in my opinion.
Walk with caution, as restauration work couldnt be finalized and some floors might be instable. Just pay attention if it feels wobbly and you will be fine though. Note that you will be watched by the resident owls.
Good to know
Location: here📍
Cost: 20.000 IQD incl. the key for another attraction close by: Al Aqiser Church
Opening Hours: 09h00 – 18h00
There is really not much going at Ukhaidir. So the main gate might usually be closed. But the gatekeeper will most likely be taking a nap in his little hut just in front of the entrance. Don’t be shy and wake him up!
2. Al Aqiser Church
Just a few minutes by car further north you will find the remains of a church from the 5th century, the Al-Aqiser church. It is said the be the first church east of jerusalem when christianity was spreading towards this part of the middle east.
That being said, the church is in a very bad state despite its historic importance. Only a few walls of the main chapel still stand above the desert sand, the rest is already dust in the wind.
But as you walk around here you can still find typical elements of a church in what is left. The long hall which ends at the apsis that usually held an altar. Otherwise not much to do and see here.
Good to know
Location: here📍
Cost: included in ticket for Ukhaidir
Opening Hours: there is a fence around the church, you can get the key for the gate at Ukhaidir
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