Ramadi
Iraq · Asia
About Ramadi
Ramadi is a city in central Iraq, about 110 kilometers (68 mi) west of Baghdad and 50 kilometers (31 mi) west of Fallujah. It is the capital and largest city of Al Anbar Governorate which shares borders with Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The city extends along the Euphrates which bisects Al Anbar. Founded in 1879, it was one of the towns established during the later period of Ottoman Iraq. By 2018 it had about 223,500 residents, near all of whom Sunni Arabs from the Dulaim tribal confederation. It lies in the Sunni Triangle of western Iraq. It is the most commonly proposed city to be the capital of a Sunni federal region in West Iraq.
Ramadi occupies a highly strategic site on the Euphrates and the road west into Syria and Jordan. This has made it a hub for trade and traffic, from which the city gained significant prosperity. Its position has meant that it has been fought over several times, during the two World Wars and again during the Iraq War and Iraqi insurgency. It was heavily damaged during the Iraq War, when it was a major focus for the insurgency against occupying United States forces. Following the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq in 2011, the city was contested by the Iraqi government and the extremist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and fell to ISIL in May 2015. On 28 December 2015, the Iraqi government declared, confirming media testimonies, that it had re-taken Ramadi, that government's first major military victory since its loss.
Ramadi travel guide
Understand
Ramadi is the largest city in Al-Anbar The city extends along the Euphrates and is the largest city in Al-Anbar. Founded by the Ottoman Empire in 1879, by 2018 it had a population of about 200,000 people, near the entirety of whom are Sunni Arabs from the Dulaim tribal confederation. Ramadi is on the Euphrates and on the road west into Syria and Jordan, which has earned the city significant prosperity, but also had it suffer in wars. It was heavily damaged during the US occupation in 2003–2011 and was governed by ISIL May–December in 2015.
Getting there
Ramadi is on the highway from Amman, Jordan, branches of which come from Syria via Al-Qaim or Ar Rutba. As of 2022 a journey via Syria is hardly to be recommended, and the border may be closed. After a long hiatus, passenger trains once again serve Ramadi with two daily services from Baghdad.
1 Ramadi Eastern railway station. (updated Jun 2021) 2 Ramadi Western railway station. (updated Jun 2021)
See
1 Great Mosque of Ramadi (جامع الرمادي الكبير). The largest mosque in Ramadi, with some parts built in 1886. It was severely damaged during the battle to retake Ramadi from ISIS but was rebuilt in 2017. (updated Feb 2019)
Sleep
1 Anbar International Hotel (فندق الانبار الدولي). Largest hotel in the Anbar province, expected to open in 2025. (updated Oct 2024)
Overview adapted from Wikipedia, travel guide fromWikivoyage (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.