Hassanieh

In the novel Murder in Mesopotamia, Hassanieh is a town in Iraq about a day and a half's journey from Baghdad and was the nearest town to the dig of Eric Leidner's archaeological expedition at Tell Yarimjah.

To get to Hassanieh from Baghdad. one took a train to Kirkuk. From there, one traveled for about four hours by road (including crossing a river by ferry) before arriving at Hassanieh. From Hassanieh to the expedition house at Tell Yarimjah is another half-hour by road.

Dr Giles Riley and his family live in Hassanieh where he works in the hospital. Captain Maitland, a policeman, is also stationed there.

Hassanieh is a fictional city. The dig at Tell Yarimjah might correspond to the actual excavation site at Nimrud about a hundred miles from Kirkuk. Max Mallowan used to excavate there and Agatha Christie visited the site often.