Enthusiastic Gulf visitors descend on Basra as football opens Iraq to tourists

BASRA: For decades Iraq’s ancient cultural attractions were closed to international tourists because of the ongoing conflict in the country, including a strict sanctions regime, but this has seemingly all changed with the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup.

Having spent time over the years in Iraq reporting on the conflict, I had never seen cars with number plates from any neighboring countries. Now seeing plates from Oman, Kuwait, the UAE and others was heart-warming, heightened by the fact that it takes many hours to drive to the country.

Full of cultural and historic artifacts and attractions, from the Ziggurat of Ur to the remains of Babylon, Iraq had always been a hotspot for tourism. Sadly, however, access dwindled from the late 1980s onwards.

One barrier has always been the difficulty to gain visas, unless they were for religious tourism. In 2019, the rules were relaxed for Western passport holders, and a visa-on-arrival scheme allowed for a plethora of foreign bloggers to explore Iraq. Residents and citizens from Arab countries still had problems, until the current Arabian Gulf Cup, with many jumping at the opportunity to visit.

“It was important for me to be here and support Iraq because of the years of crisis it’s been through,” explained Lorns Amean, a popular Jordanian travel vlogger. “I have travelled all over the world, and I have never seen hospitality greater than what the Iraqis have given us.”

Throughout the World Cup in Qatar, I would often bump into Saudi Arabian fans and tourists. When they discovered I was Iraqi, I would see their faces light up. On multiple occasions they would tell me, quite excitedly, about their plans to visit for the Gulf tournament or would ask about the security situation. And if it