Home › Cities › Basra

Old photos of Basra

14 photographs of Basra, from 1905 to 2025 — each pinned to the exact place it was taken.

Have an old photo of Basra? A family album, a postcard, a print from the attic. Pin it to the map and it becomes part of the record.
Add your photo

What the photos show

The 14 photographs of Basra on PlaceWas span 4 decades, from 1905 to 2025. 6 of them were taken before 1980; the other 8 are recent views of the same streets and landmarks.1 spot was photographed more than once, so you can compare the same street, square or building across the years.14 of the photos carry a written caption explaining what is in the frame. Every picture is pinned to the place it was taken, so the map below shows where the photographers stood.

Pick a decade to filter the photos below and the map above. Open full map ↗

Places in Basra through time

Spots photographed more than once — compare the same place across the years.

EU: Clay houses (1925), Basra — photos through time
EU: Clay houses (1925) 6 photos · 1905–1925

Stories from Basra

What contributors wrote about these photographs.

EU: Irak. Basra. Arm des Schatt al Arab mit Bootsverkehr und Speichern (1905), Basra, 1905
EU: Irak. Basra. Arm des Schatt al Arab mit Bootsverkehr und Speichern (1905) 1905 A branch of the Shatt al-Arab waterway at Basra, in present-day Iraq, lined with warehouses and busy with boat traffic, photographed in 1905.
Church-In Basra-Iraq كنيسة في البصرة العراق, Basra, 2014
Church-In Basra-Iraq كنيسة في البصرة العراق 2014 A church in Basra, photographed in 2014. The southern Iraqi city has long been home to Christian communities alongside its Muslim majority, with churches serving congregations that include Chaldean and Syriac Christians.
Mosque In Basra-AlAshaar, Basra, 2014
Mosque In Basra-AlAshaar 2014 A mosque in Basra's Al-Ashar district, pictured in 2014. Al-Ashar lies along the Shatt al-Arab waterway in the historic heart of the southern Iraqi city.
Basra Times Square Shopping centre, Basra, 2016
Basra Times Square Shopping centre 2016 Basra Times Square Shopping Centre in Basra, Iraq, photographed in 2016. Basra, Iraq's main port city near the Persian Gulf, has seen substantial commercial redevelopment in recent decades.
قرب تمثال الحرية, Basra, 2018
قرب تمثال الحرية 2018 The Arabic title translates as 'Near the Freedom Monument,' referring to the well-known statue in Basra's al-Ashar district. Photographed in 2018, the image documents the surroundings of one of the city's prominent…
جامعه باب الزبير, Basra, 2018
جامعه باب الزبير 2018 The Arabic title identifies this as the Bab al-Zubair Mosque in Basra, a port city in southern Iraq on the Shatt al-Arab waterway. The photograph was taken in 2018, documenting one of the city's neighborhood mosques.
شط العرب البصرة, Basra, 2020
شط العرب البصرة 2020 The Shatt al-Arab waterway at Basra, formed by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, photographed in 2020.
Basra War Cemetery Gate, Basra, 2024
Basra War Cemetery Gate 2024 The entrance gate of the Basra War Cemetery in Basra, Iraq, which holds the graves of Commonwealth soldiers from the First and Second World Wars.
1900s · 1 photo
1920s · 5 photos
2010s · 5 photos
2020s · 3 photos