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Samarra Archaeological City is the site of a powerful Islamic ... there and spread to the other regions of the Islamic world and beyond. The 9th-century Great Mosque and its spiral minaret are among ...

By Islam Salah El Din Cities rise, thrive, and sometimes fade into the backdrop of history. Throughout the MENA region, once-mighty capitals shaped empires and cultures before being overshadowed by ...

But modern Samarra also has a tragic history. In 2006 the great dome of the famous al-Askari mosque was destroyed by bombs. A year later, the archaeological ruins of the ancient city, which ...

This photo taken on March 3, 2025 shows the spiraling minaret of the Great Mosque in Samarra, Salahuddin province, Iraq. Samarra Archaeological City, located about 130 km north of Iraqi capital ...