I was just at Al Faw Palace for a conference, last weekend. It is surrounded by quite a few other palaces and opulent buildings around the once-stocked lake (in which the Carp are quite freakishly large now). Well, opulent might not be entirely accurate, but it works compared to the rest of Iraq.
The Lens blog is also featuring other Photographers who work in Classic Photography. There's one on Contemporary Russia with medium format and printing in darkroom; and another on Jazz Musicians shot with large & medium format. A very good blogging day.