Years ago I did security in Iraq. We took some folks from the State Dept to a few sites near Baghdad that had some type of historical and/or religious significance.
It seems that the State Dept folks were trying to show the Iraqis about something they termed as, religious tourism. Folks traveling the world to see religious sites. Paying good money to do so.
Kind of like going to the River Jordan if you visit Israel or Jordan.
The Iraqis did t get it. They couldn’t wrap their heads around the fact that people would travel there and spend some serious cash to travel around the country to see the sites.
It was talked about that the marshland, in southern Iraq, near the Persian Gulf could be some of the waterfowl hunting around. Not sure if that was true but it could make some sense.
Again, not something they could comprehend.