SPACEPHOTOS

Baghdad, the capital of Iraq with a population of almost 2 300 000, is featured in this near-vertical photograph. Located in central Iraq on both banks of the Tigris River and near the northern end of the floodplain of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, Baghdad is the commercial and transportation center of the country. Major industries include railroad workshops; chemical refineries; and the making of carpets, leather, textiles, cement, and tobacco products. Although situated in a semiarid region, the city is surrounded by agricultural fields that are irrigated by both the Tigris River and the Euphrates River, which flows 18 miles (30 kilometers) west of the central city. Baghdad, with its rich history, numerous archaeological sites, and many museums, is still recovering from the results of the Gulf War of early 1991 and the sanctions imposed on the country by the United Nations because of that war.