In the lexicon of Iraq, few words carry as much meaning as Samarra.

This city on the Tigris river north of Baghdad was the source of the sectarian slaughter of 2006 and 2007 and the scene of some the most violent fire fights of the same era. 

Even as late as 2008, it was city to be by-passed when traveling north or south on Highway 1. 

The city is peaceful enough now, but still struggling with an identity crisis.  It is a Sunni city but home of a holy Shia shrine that draws millions of pilgrims a year.  It was once the leading city of Sala ad Dihn province, but during Saddam's regime, the seat of government was moved to Tikrit.  The Sunni tribes fought with the coalition to rid the city of Al Qaeda, but the Shia security services from Baghdad dominate the old quarter near the Golden Mosque.

And it was the second bombing of the Golden Mosque in 2006 that was the catalyst of the sectarian upheavals and rampant murders of 2006 and 2007.

The Golden Mosque is being rebuilt, the city is very safe by Iraq standards and the pilgrims are returning in force.

But the way forward is still murky.  The city is still mostly penned in by concrete barriers.  Hundreds of Iraqi Federal Police work in the city competing with the local population for resources.  The locals want the Feds to leave, but the Central Government of Iraq is not taking any chances of there being a third bombing of the mosque.  The mosque is ringed by blast barriers and Federal Police control the one entrance searching everyone. 

The old wealthy sheiks and old Samarra money that fled to Dubai, Amman, Damascus and Beruit are returning--but their influence has dwindled as a new generation of leaders stepped forward.  In the last elections for the provincial council, candidates from Samarra dominated an hold a majority of the seats.

The US military is leaving as well.  Some believe the US will leave and noticed the reduced US presence.  Others think the US will be here forever. 

The biggest fear among the Sunni of Samarra is the grand conspiracy of the Central Government becoming a puppet of Iran and opressing the Sunni. 

The more realistic fear held by the Sunni is that the Iranians will essentially buy the city.  There is a massive need for hotels, hospitality and transportation related services associated with the Mosque.  A lot of money is sitting on the sidelines and some fear the Iranians will get Shia-Iraqi business partners to buy hotels, buildings, houses and real estate. 

The time for purchasing in Samarra is ripe. 

The mosque is nearing completion and series of gates around the old quarter will soon replace the corridor of concrete blast barriers as access to the mosque. 

One of the new outer gates was being inspected today by Iraqi officials and I rode along with Lt. Colonel Ghayath Sami Al Doury to the inspection.  Lt. Col. Ghayath also walked me around the old quarter without any other military or police security escort--just me with a camera, Ghayath with his service pistol in his waist band.  It was my first real contact with Iraqis on this trip and I felt perfectly safe on the streets. 

Destroyed by a massive bomb in 2006, the Mosque is nearly reconstructed.  Shia pilgrims still visit it.

The shops on the left are all closed.  Religious pilgrims to the mosque now walk inside two columns of concrete blast barriers to the mosque.

The ornate dome of the Blue Mosque next to the Golden Mosque.

Construction has begun on one of many gates that will allow people into and out of the old quarter and the Mosque.  Once all the gates are built, the blast barriers will come down.

The Flip camera is an international sensation.  These still photos were captured from the video of my Flip.

An internal gate within the Old Quarter of Samarra.  The outer gates will look similar to this one.

The old 'Jewish Market' in the Old Quarter of Samarra.  Lt. Col. Ghayath, left.

The first few steps into the Gold Market are like entering an old part of Florence or Seville.

Store after store selling gold jewelry.

My girl doesn't care much for Gold so I didn't buy anything.  Sorry hon, I looked for silver, but this is the 'Gold Market'.

Bank Street, just outside the Mosque compound is what the Old Quarter may become again.

Men's clothes at a shop on Bank Street shows the clash between the traditional and Iraqi's desire for modern and often flamboyant clothing.

A women's clothier.  The women of Iraq, though still modest, occasionally are dressed with more flair than westerners.

Lt. Colonel Ghayath, who runs the Samarra Joint Coordination Center, was my tour guide for the morning.

JD on a roof top across from the Golden Mosque.

It was obvious I was a westerner as I walked down Bank Street carrying a TV camera in my hand--there aren't too many ginger Iraqis with shaved heads wearing cargo pants. 

I was looked at like an oddity, but not a threat or target.  Very few westerners walk around the Od Quarter--the most recent ones were always in uniform and carried M-4 Carbines.  After June 30th, the appearance of Soldiers in the Old Quarter became rare. 

They theme of the conversations with people on the street was the same--take the blast barriers down.  The Shia pilgrims are the money machine for Samarra.  But now they just come in on buses, are dropped off, searched, walk down the corridor, see the Mosque and Shrine, then load up and leave town. 

Around the Mosque and all over Samarra are hotels that have closed or are struggling. 

The removal of the barriers and completion of the gates which will turn the Old Quarter into a massive pedestrian mall will bring commerce back to the city. 

The Central Government though is in no hurry to take down the barriers and risk a third bombing of the Golden Mosque.

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