How desert camping in Iraq is taking off in the absence of war, as young men swap social media and ‘daily annoyances’ for tranquillity, tobacco and tea

More young Iraqi men are getting out of Baghdad and other cities for winter camping trips in the Samawah desert, where they cook and go off-roading in jeeps

The area isn’t as dangerous as before, but jihadists, landmines and drug traffickers still pose risks and any trip has to be carefully planned

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Campers gather around a fire in Iraq’s Samawah desert. Desert camping is becoming increasingly popular in the country as war becomes a distant memory and young men look for “safe” adventures among the sand dunes. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:21pm, 4 Mar 2024

Far from the hustle and bustle of major cities, young Iraqis are increasingly taking advantage of a renewed sense of safety to explore the country’s serene desert getaways.

Sheltering amid golden dunes, Ghadanfar Abdallah and his friends gather around a flickering campfire in the Samawah desert, south of the capital Baghdad, humming tunes, laughing and eating.

“When we post pictures, people do not believe that there are such places like the dunes in Iraq,” the 35-year-old oil sector worker says. “My friends ask me if the pictures were taken in Dubai. They are shocked when they learn that they were, in fact, in Iraq.”

For years, only the most intrepid of hikers and campers would brave the trips into Iraq’s desert. But with the rise of social media and a period of relative stability, it has become a popular destination for those seeking not only adventure and off-roading but also tranquillity in the vast, barren landscape.

Iraqi campers drive through the Samawah desert south of Baghdad. Photo: AFP

“It is something I’ve loved since I was a little boy. But I only started doing it with friends in the winter of 2018 or 2019,” Abdallah says.