Mansour and Karadah Districts Travel Guide

Fromerly two of the nicer districts in Baghdad. Good resturants, lovely shopping of all kinds and coffee shops where you can get a feel of how nice the place really was prior to the 1990s. Unfortunately these areas are still somewhat dangerous and evidence of  military occupation is everywhere.

At the moment, the likely life expectancy for a westerner in any part of Baghdad, travelling without armed escorts, is under 24 hours. The only non-Iraqis in this area are MNF-I soldiers and, occasionally, military contractors.

If you do decide to go to Karada, make every effort to disguise the fact that you are not from Iraq. You are advised to stay in one spot for no longer than 20 minutes at a time. Kidnapping and violence are endemic, however, and being disguised as an Iraqi is no guarantee of success. At least 50 bodies are discovered in Baghdad every day. Many more people go missing.