Looking for more from Sean McLachlan? He also hangs out on the Midlist Writer blog, where he talks about writing, adventure travel, caving, and everything else he gets up to. He also reproduces all the posts from Civil War Horror, so drop on by!

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

On assignment in Iraq

Later this week I'm flying to Baghdad. That's right, Iraq. I'll be spending a little less than three weeks traveling around the country writing a series for Gadling. My itinerary will take me to many of the country's famous monuments, like the Swords of Qadisiyah and the Ziggurat of Ur shown here. I'll also be visiting schools, markets, cafes, and meeting lots of regular people to learn about their lives.

Visiting Iraq has always been a dream of mine. Back when I was studying archaeology in university I seriously considered going into Mesopotamian studies. Then Iraq invaded Kuwait and the country was closed off. I went into European archaeology instead before ending up as a writer. I never lost my interest in Mesopotamia, though.

My series, Destination: Iraq, will start in early November. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, I'll have very spotty access to email. I can't promise any posts here until the first week of November, but check back because I just might surprise you! If you want some adventure travel reading in the meantime, check out my series about traveling to Somaliland.

Photos courtesy Wikipedia. My own coming soon!

6 comments:

  1. Enjoy your travels Sean, and be safe. Blessings,
    Mike

    ReplyDelete
  2. I look forward to the series, and as the others say, take care. Crossed swords, hmmm-m, I wonder if there's any blessing or curse that befalls those who go beneath?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Sean .. it was interesting to hear your background .. enjoy Iraq - I imagine it's amazing - travel safely ..

    Cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete
  4. The Ziggurat of Ur is one of those places I really, really wish to visit before I kick it. There's something just so purely ancient and elemental about it that completely fascinates me. Definitely looking forward to any photos of it you post here.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It appears that Iraq has gone American to some degree....what-what? Very interesting and appears you are doing a hell of a job there, Sean.

    ReplyDelete

Got something to say? Feel free! No anonymous comments allowed, though. Too many spammers and haters on the Internet.