An Introduction - Sammy Qahtan

Hello, everyone. My name is Sammy Qahtan. I am a 30-year-old Iraqi currently residing in Baghdad but I move around the country quite often. That is how I got the idea of what to do after @amirtheawesome1 suggested I join Hive, I will explain later in the post.

My background:

I grew up in Iraq, never had the chance to travel outside of Iraq yet. However, I have always found Iraq to be full of places that are enough for a lifetime of discovery. A rich history that is worth discovering and showing to the world.

I am a history major, graduated from Baghdad University. I find that it is very important for Iraqis to know where they came from so they'd know where to go.

The reason I joined Hive

Besides being tired of screaming into the void on Facebook and Twitter, @amirtheawesome1 told me that this would be the best place for me to use my historical knowledge and love for showing places in Iraq and maybe make some money from them as well as having a place to learn about different places and people.

My Type of Content

I will be aiming at creating a reference point to everything that is related to Iraq. Places to visit, places to avoid, highlighting issues, celebrating accomplishments. I will mainly focus on showing the history of a place, be it governance, a district, or even one small house provided it has the history to fill up a post. Below you will see an example of what I am talking about

Ali al-Gharbi

Ali al-Gharbi is a district existing south of Baghdad, around 300 kilometers away. You will have to forgive my camera quality as my phone camera is a little broken and I will soon replace with an actual camera for a better experience.

You can characterize the district as somewhere between countryside and a city-type place, though it definitely falls more on the countryside scale of things.

If there is one thing you will always find in the district it would be green, open space. The district is the perfect place where you can just put on a headphone, play your music, and just walk around as you admire the view of the sun and trees all around.

My type of content will focus on highlighting places in Iraq of all kinds as in my next post I will focus on discovering Ali al-Gharbi district, even more, nightlife, activities, and everything you'd need in the unlikely event of anyone traveling to Iraq, which I heavily encourage.

My Ultimate Goal

I believe Iraq, much like many countries that have suffered in recent history, has gained some dark reputation inviting everyone to imagine as a country where nothing but death exists. When people I talk to on the other side of the border talk about Iraq, they often think that it is a joke of sorts whenever I invite them to visit as they imagine the country to be a big hole filled with goats with RPGs pointed at it from all around.

My goal is to defeat that notion and preconception people have of my country. That is why I aim to use this account and with the help of the Hive community, I will spread the message that my country is at least like any other country, a country that is facing a little hardship but remains beautiful with a rich history.

I also aim to learn about other countries from people living there. I want to highlight as well as learn about places that aren't just tourists' destinations or places that have been covered to death by media., but places that show how everyday people live and what you will encounter when you are not being led by a tour guide.

Summary:

I believe Iraq as a country has a lot worth learning and teaching about. It is heavily mistreated by the image that is shown of it. In this account, I aim to show the Iraq you don't see and apply my history knowledge to show the full picture of the places I will show in the future.

Thank you for reading, and I hope I didn't bore you.