Basra

Basra is the second largest city of Iraq, Basra is the country's main port and the capital of the Basra Governorate. Basra was founded in 636 A.D. by the caliph Umar I, it was a cultural center under Harun ar-Rashid and declined with the decay of the Abbasid caliphate. Its possession was long contested by the Persians and the Turks, Basra is situated 67 km to the north of the Arabian Gulf and 549 km south east of Baghdad.