Samarra

City in central Iraq with about 200,000 inhabitants (2002 estimate). Samarra lies on the east bank of the Tigris River.
Samarra is a trade centre of its region. There is some industry and small crafts, as well as local administration.
While Samarra today is a modest regional centre, it was the capital of the Muslim world for 56 years in the 9th century, when the Abbasid caliphate was moved here from Baghdad. At the most, the royal palaces and gardens stretched out for a distance of 30 km along the river.

The most prominent remains of this past is the famous Great Friday Mosque from 852 with the unique spiral minaret. This mosque itself is predominantly in ruins, with only the outer walls standing. The plan of the mosque is 240 x 160 metres, i.e. more than 38,000 m2. The walls are about 10 metres high, 2.65 metres thick and supported by 44 towers. An ambitious restoration process began in the late 1990's, aiming at rebuilding the columns and eventually the roof.

The spiral minaret, 'Malwiya' in Arabic, is a separate structure from the main congreation hall, 27 metres north of the main hall. It is 52 metres high, and 33 metres in diameter. It is easily entered by a staircase spiralling up on the outside of the round walls. At the summit, the staircase penetrates the structure for the first time, giving access to a flat platform on the top, about 3.5 metres wide. It is believed by many that the minaret was built about 15 years before the main structure.

About 22 km south of Samarra lies a replica of the Great Friday Mosque, the Abu Duluf Mosque. The main hall is almost as big, 215 x 138 metres, but the minaret, once again spiral is only 19 metres high. Samarra holds the remains of the Caliph's residence. It used to be 700 m"