Humvee TV with the soundtrack

I finally got around to putting this episode of Humvee TV together with the music. Enjoy.

To view the first episode of Humvee TV I did in Iraq, click here.
To view the second episode of Humvee TV in Afghanistan, click here.

Ziggurat of Ur

On the outskirts of Camp Adder, a logistics base in southern Iraq, is the Ziggurat of Ur, an ancient temple that is more than 4,000 years old. Built by the Sumerians in honor of their moon god, the rectangular temple towers over the flat Iraqi desert and can be seen for miles.

Ur was the capital of the Sumerian and the birthplace of Abraham, the father of the prophets. Experts believe that the foundation of Abraham house is near the Ziggurat.

Curator Dief Mohssein Naiif al-Gizzy, who is pictured in the photos, gave us a tour of the entire site. The curator shoot facts at us like a machine gun and moved about just as fast. But he showed us everything, the ziggurat, the oldest standing arch, Sumerian writing, tombs and the rebuilt home which some say was Abraham's house. I'm not quite sure I believe that one. Nonetheless it was interesting tour of a site few get to see.

14-Hour Humvee Ride

During one of my days in Iraq I had the pain of taking about a 14-hour convoy trip from Camp Anaconda, north of Baghdad, to Tallil Airbase in Southern Iraq. Not the most exciting ride in the world since I was crammed in the back seat of a Humvee, at least this time I wasn't occupying the seat with the gas tank directly below it.
There isn't a whole hell of a lot you can shoot from the back seat of Humvee, except some Humvee TV pics, but I have already posted a few of those. Here is what you can get from a 14-hour convoy ride.
The ride broke me off pretty good and my knees were killing for days after that. I'm not sure how these guys do it day after day.

Another Episode of Humvee TV

I started shooting this series my first trip to Iraq and always enjoy the diversion of shooting while stuffed into the back of a Humvee. It helps keep the mind off things that tend to happen while riding in the back of a Humvee. And usually, as a journalist, you end up sitting in the seat that is on top of the gas tank. Not the best place to be if something bad is to happen.
This could be the last series of Humvee TV since the MRAPs are starting to replace the Humvees. The MRAPs are beastly vehicles that don't lend themselves to interesting window photos. My time in Baghdad was split between rides in Humvees and MRAPs. The MRAPs are safer but I still prefer a ride in a Humvee just because I can see what it is going on.

Enough with the words here is the latest installment of Humvee TV. These are just the images maybe later in the week I will get the slideshow together with some catchy Iraqi music.

The Shabakar Market aka The Fish Market

When Lt. Larry Pitts and other soldiers from the 2nd Battalion of the 82nd Airborne Division’s 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment arrived a year ago, the market area was a place to get killed. Criminals and insurgents terrorized the neighborhood. Over the next several months, the soldiers raided hideouts and rid the area of gangs and terrorists. Once the market was cleared, it became the center of the soldiers’ reconstruction effort.