Hatra is one of the stars of the National Museum in Baghdad: it produced those funny statues of men with curly hair and a surprised expression, raising one hand as if to say “Hi!”. The ancient city, built by the Parthians, dates mostly from the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. With its columns and capitals, it clearly was inspired by the “global” architectural trends of Classical Antiquity.

The archaeological site of Hatra lies a bit of a drive from the main highway, in the desert. This area has seen a lot of fighting with ISIS and still Shia militias keep an eye on its “back” as it borders the desert, which eventually leads to Syria. Regular villages in the area have been abandoned. You will still see bullet holes and find wasted bullets on the ground, but the site has been patched up, including reinstating damaged sculptural figures and reliefs. These don’t have the quality of those that you find in museums (they look a bit weathered), but I guess that has always been the case in the site’s modern history and is not a result of the recent conflict.

We arrived about an hour before sunset, a bit late, and we had to skip the introduction by the site manager to make the best of our time on the ground. It would have been worth having it, though, as the site lacks any interpretation. The core of the fortified city consists of what is essentially a multicultural temple complex, with halls dedicated to a specific deity each. You can climb one of those via a set of stairs to reach the roof, from where you have a good overview of the site. The city was built on a circular plan and surrounded by a double wall.