We lived in Iraq from September 1988 to August 1990. We arrived within days of the ceasefire for the Iran-Iraq war, and fled after the Iraq invasion of Kuwait. Between those times we watched the Iraq economy grow from a war-time economy, where even the most basic goods, such as eggs, were not available, to a growing and developing society, though still ruled by a heavy-handed, controlling dictatorship.

Though we were diplomats, and thus not directly controlled by the host government, we still felt the effects of Saddam Hussein's control. Part of that control is reflect in these photos... by what you don't see. You will not see photos of roads, bridges, airports, ports, government buildings of any sort. Photos of these places were forbidden, and could have resulted in confiscation of our cameras, if not worse. Instead, we could photograph Iraq's archeological treasures, something that was considered to be of little importance to the government.

Photography was not the only limit on our lives. As diplomats, we were presumed to be spies. We could not leave Baghdad without permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since getting the permission required a week's notice, impromptu trips were limited. We had few Iraqi friends. It was dangerous for them to visit us. We always assumed that our homes and phones were tapped. Sensitive issues could never be discussed.

We took several trips outside of Baghdad. The most significant trip, by far, was touted as a pilgrimage to Christian sites in northern Iraq. It was in Christmas 1988, and our Ambassador predicted correctly that the Iraq government would not deny us a chance to visit Christian sites at Christmas. Many of the photos from North Iraq, Mosel, Samara, and Hatra came from that trip.

We later traveled to Arbil, a Kurdish town just a hundred kilometers from the Iran boarder. Karbala is one of Iraq's most important Shiite Shrines, and has been the site of intense fighting in the second gulf war. The Ukathar Castle (and I am not sure I have spelled that right) was an ancient camel caravan route stop. We also travelled to Babylon, and saw Saddam Hussein's efforts to "restore" Babylon, actually resulting in its ruin, and we traveled to Basra,  shortly after the end of the Iran war, and saw the torpedoed ruins of ships blocking the Shaat al Arab, Iraq's only seaport. Sadly, we do not have photos of these areas. (Taking photos in Basra could well have gotten us shot.)