Into Iraq: One Man’s Journey
Michael Palin, seated, with a local resident in Baghdad.
By Sarah Kittle
Into Iraq is a story of a thousand-mile journey from Turkey through Iraq – a story about “faces glimpsed, sounds caught on the wind, tastes of dishes you’ve never eaten before,” and “words exchanged over a mug of sweet tea,” according to Michael Palin, the host of a three-part UK television series and author of a book with the same title.
Michael Palin came to fame as part of Monty Python, a British comedy troupe that produced a sketch comedy show on BBC called “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” in the 1970s and 1980s. They later branched out into cinema and their films are considered cult classics. Forced to watch the television show with my brothers (we had one TV growing up), I became a fan of the group and eventually the individual cast members.
Sir Michael Palin, knighted in 2019, is one of the show’s original creators. Following Flying Circus’ fame, he filmed a series of travel documentaries for the BBC. His latest journey, filmed in March of this year, takes Palin to Iraq.
“The scenes weren’t always happy,” remembers Palin. “Many of them reflected the violence of the past few decades when Iraq was disfigured by war and the threat of war. But we met some souls who’d been through it all and whose resilience was an inspiration.”
Palin, in all his travels (he went ‘Around the World in 80 Days’), had never experienced anywhere like Iraq. “The long war has been over for such a short time,” he mused on his website. Hailed as one of the most dangerous places in the world, Iraq held some surprises for Palin.
“When you say you’re going to Iraq, people just say, ‘Good luck,’” he laughs. “That’s the kind of travel I enjoy.”
Palin has been fascinated with Iraq since he was a boy and was introduced to a children’s version of Arabian Nights. How different was the Iraq of history from the war-torn region of today? Often dubbed the cradle of civilization, he knew that the Middle Eastern country was one place he had to see. But he had to get there first.
Traveling from eastern Turkey by train along the Tigris, Palin faced a day-long chaotic challenge to cross the border once he reached the Persian Gulf on the southern coast of Iraq. His first stop was Mosul.
Walking among the ruins, Palin interacted with locals. He said he felt a “gut-punch” viewing the old town where houses once stood and seeing children playing with a catapult in the rubble. He asks if they remember the fighting. They do.
His vaunted optimism took a beating in Iraq. Visiting the site of the Camp Speicher massacre where ISIS selected non-Muslims and Shia cadets and murdered thousands of them, burying them in a mass grave, he could not help but be moved.
Fifty miles east in Erbil, a different Iraq presents itself. One of the richest parts of the country shines like a diamond in the desert. Palin talked to Kurds in Akre and witnessed a soul-moving celebration in the festival of Newroz. Holding burning torches, the people of Akre ascended a mountain up steep steps to be rewarded with the view from the summit. Their lights shine as glimmers of hope in a war-ravaged country.
Visiting Kirkuk, Palin was astounded by the disparity of wealth. “The oil money in other Gulf states has made cities such as Dubai and Qatar like Manhattan,” he reflected. “It just hasn’t happened in Iraq, and that’s frustrating to see.”
Palin was surprised by Iraq, by how the country continues to function after everything it has been through. “My biggest surprise,” said Palin in an interview, “was that Iraq could and should be a pleasant place to live.”
Another surprise came as he conquered his vertigo climbing a minaret in Samarra. “What a wonderful place to be,” he recalled, “looking out over the heart of Biblical Iraq, with Abraham and all these figures having been born in this area.”
The series also showcases the landscape; the rugged yet beautiful northern mountains with cities carved out of hilltops and the great plains leading to desert in the south.
But it’s the people who made the biggest impression on the famous world traveler. “The people we’re lucky enough to meet who are just living their lives; they have families or are studying, and to hear their stories is very important,” said Palin.
“I’d love to go back to see what its people make of it in five years’ time. If they can form a government that can represent the majority of the people, and invest the money well and wisely, then I think Iraq has a great future. But it could go either way.”
Into Iraq aired on Channel 5 in the UK beginning in September.