Take your graduation photos among the ruins
Iraq’s archaeological sites are some of the most beautiful places for individual graduation photos: thousands of years of history behind the biggest day of your life. If you take your graduation photos at a heritage site, we will publish them here to support you and the sites.
The best places for graduation photos
Babylon
Babylon’s walls, its lion and the Processional Way: a backdrop like no other
Best time: An hour before sunset
Ur
The golden ziggurat and its wide stairway: a photo for a lifetime
Best time: Early morning or late afternoon
Samarra
Samarra’s spiral minaret, one of Iraq’s most famous landmarks
Best time: Late afternoon and sunset
Taq Kasra
Taq Kasra, one of the largest brick arches ever built
Best time: Sunset
Erbil Citadel
The citadel’s lanes and high gates, with a view over the city
Best time: Late afternoon
Al-Mustansiriya Madrasa
Mustansiriya’s arches and courtyard: Abbasid elegance in Baghdad
Best time: Morning
The Abbasid Palace
Abbasid brick arches and centuries-old ornament
Best time: Morning
The Qishla
The clock tower and arcades on the Tigris
Best time: Late afternoon
Old Basra’s shanasheel
Basra’s colourful wooden shanasheel balconies
Best time: Morning
Before you go
- Respect the site: never climb walls or monuments, write on them, or take any stone or brick.
- Ask the site management before your shoot, especially if you bring a photographer and equipment. Some sites charge an entry fee.
- Drones need an official permit in Iraq, so don’t fly one without approval.
- The best light is the hour before sunset. In summer, shoot early in the morning: the heat is strong.
- Bring water, sunscreen and comfortable shoes, and keep your gown in your bag until you arrive.
- Leave no trace: leave the place better than you found it.
Took your graduation photos at a heritage site? We’ll publish them
Send your photo (one or two, high quality) by Instagram message or email, with: your name as you’d like it shown (or no name), the place, and your university and year if you like.
Our hashtag: #تخرجي_بين_الآثار
Publishing terms
- The graduate is 18 or older.
- It’s your own photo, or everyone in it agrees.
- Sending it means you agree to it being published on Rafidain and its pages.
- You can ask us to remove it at any time, and we will.
- We publish photos that respect the site: no climbing or damage to monuments.
Graduates’ album
No photos yet. Be the first graduate in this album.