Hama is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria and is known for its use of water wheels to water the garden of Hama.

On the bank of the Tigris River and home to a large Christian monastery, the city of Tikrit fell to Islam in the 10th century.

Capital of the Kurdish region of Iraq, Erbil is one of the most ancient cities in the world dating back to at least 2300 BC.