Baghdad offers its guests a huge choice of attractions. You can visit some of the numerous religious and historical sights, as well as interesting museums. Many tourists start their sightseeing with a visit to the Abbasid Palace located in the very heart of the city. This is a striking medieval monument erected at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries. Unlike many other palaces of this period, it was never intended for defensive purposes. According to one of the versions, the magnificent palace was originally built as a madrasah, and later became used as a royal residence. The palace got a luxurious interior design. The rarest and most expensive materials were used for its construction and decoration. Many elements of its medieval decoration have survived intact to this day, and gorgeous mosaics made of colored marble are a great example. You can also notice incredibly beautiful elements of gilded bronze and glass, as well as large antique mirrors. The legend has it that a magnificent tree made of gold and silver and decorated with diamonds stood in the palace hundreds of years ago. Today, almost all of its halls are available for tours. Most of them present collections of artworks from various periods. The most visited museum in town is The National Museum of Iraq. Among its interesting features is not only the variety of unique exhibits but also the fact that this museum was founded by a woman. Its founder is Gertrude Bell, an English political officer, famous
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