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Iraq’s hot spring spa back in business amid Mosul war chaos

An Iraqi man bathes at a sulfur pond at Hammam al-Alil city south of Mosul, Iraq. Hammam al-Alil, a town south of Mosul once famous throughout Iraq for its healing hot waters, is back in business after a U.S.-backed offensive retook the area from Islamic State militants and authorities reopened its spa. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

Updated on: Apr 05, 2017 12:13 PM IST

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An Iraqi man bathes at a sulfur pond at Hammam al-Alil city south of Mosul, Iraq. Hammam al-Alil, a town south of Mosul once famous throughout Iraq for its healing hot waters, is back in business after a U.S.-backed offensive retook the area from Islamic State militants and authorities reopened its spa. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

Updated on Apr 05, 2017 12:13 PM

An Iraqi man bathes at a sulfur pond at Hammam al-Alil city south of Mosul, Iraq. Hammam al-Alil, a town south of Mosul once famous throughout Iraq for its healing hot waters, is back in business after a U.S.-backed offensive retook the area from Islamic State militants and authorities reopened its spa. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

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Hammam al-Alil, a town south of Mosul once famous throughout Iraq for its healing hot waters, is back in business after a U.S.-backed offensive retook the area from Islamic State militants and authorities reopened its spa.Residents have been flocking back since Islamic State was expelled from the town in early November, ending the days when bathers had to wear a tunic covering them from knee to navel as part of the Sunni Muslim movement’s strict modesty code. (Suhaib Salem / REUTERS)

Updated on Apr 05, 2017 12:13 PM

Hammam al-Alil, a town south of Mosul once famous throughout Iraq for its healing hot waters, is back in business after a U.S.-backed offensive retook the area from Islamic State militants and authorities reopened its spa.Residents have been flocking back since Islamic State was expelled from the town in early November, ending the days when bathers had to wear a tunic covering them from knee to navel as part of the Sunni Muslim movement’s strict modesty code. (Suhaib Salem / REUTERS)

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This oasis of leisure now coexists, however, with camps housing more than 30,000 of the people displaced in the region by the campaign to dislodge Islamic State from Mosul, it’s the last major city stronghold in Iraq. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

Updated on Apr 05, 2017 12:13 PM

This oasis of leisure now coexists, however, with camps housing more than 30,000 of the people displaced in the region by the campaign to dislodge Islamic State from Mosul, it’s the last major city stronghold in Iraq. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

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Residents have been flocking back since Islamic State was expelled from the town in early November, ending the days when bathers had to wear a tunic covering them from knee to navel as part of the Sunni Muslim movement’s strict modesty code. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

Updated on Apr 05, 2017 12:13 PM

Residents have been flocking back since Islamic State was expelled from the town in early November, ending the days when bathers had to wear a tunic covering them from knee to navel as part of the Sunni Muslim movement’s strict modesty code. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

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The spa used to be magnet for wellness tourists and rheumatism patients but had passed its heyday even before the Islamist militants arrived in 2014. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

Updated on Apr 05, 2017 12:13 PM

The spa used to be magnet for wellness tourists and rheumatism patients but had passed its heyday even before the Islamist militants arrived in 2014. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

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The elegant hotels at the spa are now shuttered or bombed out because Islamic State fighters used to live there. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

Updated on Apr 05, 2017 12:13 PM

The elegant hotels at the spa are now shuttered or bombed out because Islamic State fighters used to live there. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

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A machine gun nest at the entrance shatters any sense of normality. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

Updated on Apr 05, 2017 12:13 PM

A machine gun nest at the entrance shatters any sense of normality. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

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Upgrading the baths is probably the last priority for officials who, just 2 km (1.25 miles) away, also have to run one of the biggest camps for people fleeing the battle of Mosul. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

Updated on Apr 05, 2017 12:13 PM

Upgrading the baths is probably the last priority for officials who, just 2 km (1.25 miles) away, also have to run one of the biggest camps for people fleeing the battle of Mosul. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

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Every five minutes or so, a bus pulls into Hammam al-Alil with more new arrivals. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

Updated on Apr 05, 2017 12:13 PM

Every five minutes or so, a bus pulls into Hammam al-Alil with more new arrivals. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

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Up to 5,000 people come every day from the district or across the frontlines around Mosul, around 30 km (19 miles) to the north. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

Updated on Apr 05, 2017 12:13 PM

Up to 5,000 people come every day from the district or across the frontlines around Mosul, around 30 km (19 miles) to the north. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

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The United Nations said on Tuesday the total number of displaced since the offensive began in October had exceeded 300,000 and camps for them are being expanded to take in even more people expected to flee the fighting in and around Mosul’s densely populated old city. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

Updated on Apr 05, 2017 12:13 PM

The United Nations said on Tuesday the total number of displaced since the offensive began in October had exceeded 300,000 and camps for them are being expanded to take in even more people expected to flee the fighting in and around Mosul’s densely populated old city. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

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With tents packed sometimes with two families in one some spend their first night in a mass tent or outside. Many are in state of shock. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

Updated on Apr 05, 2017 12:13 PM

With tents packed sometimes with two families in one some spend their first night in a mass tent or outside. Many are in state of shock. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

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While there’s plenty of hot water at the spa, women in the tent city rise early to queue for the water truck that comes once a day. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

Updated on Apr 05, 2017 12:13 PM

While there’s plenty of hot water at the spa, women in the tent city rise early to queue for the water truck that comes once a day. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

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While there’s plenty of hot water at the spa, women in the tent city rise early to queue for the water truck that comes once a day. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

Updated on Apr 05, 2017 12:13 PM

While there’s plenty of hot water at the spa, women in the tent city rise early to queue for the water truck that comes once a day. (Suhaib Salem/REUTERS)

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