Iraq is a country in western Asia. Locations mentioned in stories are Baghdad, Basra, Hassanieh, Tell Yarimjah, Kirkuk and Tell Abu Hamid.
Iraq and Agatha Christie[]
Agatha Christie visited Iraq several times. When visiting the excavation of the ancient city of Ur in 1928, she met Max Mallowan (her future husband) for the first time and subsequently accompanied him on expeditions for the next 40 years. They stayed for a time at a house on the west bank of the Tigris in Baghdad which was also the premises of the British School of Archaeology in Iraq (of which Max was the first director). Several of Christie's books were written here or at excavation sites in Iraq.
Iraq in the works by Agatha Christie[]
Several works by Agatha Christie/Mary Westmacott takes place in Iraq.
- The Gate of Baghdad (1933)
- Murder on the Orient Express (1934) - Mary Debenham had been working in Baghdad.
- Murder in Mesopotamia (1936)
- Absent in the Spring (1944) - Barbara Wray and her husband live in Baghdad.
- They Came to Baghdad (1951) - Much of the story takes place in and near Baghdad.
Iraq in fictional accounts of Agatha Christie[]
- Death in a Desert Land 2019 novel by Andrew Wilson
- Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar 2019 film by Tom Dalton and Sam Yates.
Baghdad locations[]
They Came to Baghdad - Much of the action takes place there and a large number of actual places are mentioned:
- Tio Hotel - based on the actual Zia Hotel
- Beit Melek Ali - Agatha Christie stayed here and is believed to have written the novel here. At the time of the events in the novel, she should probably have been staying in the house but she didn't mention herself.
- "Devonshire"
- Tigris Palace Hotel - an actual hotel, Amy Leatheran stays there are the beginning of the novel.