Atop The Mansur Hotel

The beginning of Haifa Street, until recently one of the most dangerous areas in the city.

I got a chance to climb up onto the roof of the Mansur Hotel and get a good look at the Baghdad skyline from a few different perspectives. Haze hangs over the city like a brown cloud, mixing seamlessly with the khaki landscape of the city. There is very little color; the occasional green of grove of palm trees, the splash of heavily watered lawn, even the river runs brown.