In 2002, I traveled on an official UN mission to Iraq helping on statistics issues, an assignment that came at a remarkable and uneasy moment in the country’s history. This was before the second invasion and before the bombing of the Canal Hotel, during a period when Baghdad still functioned with a certain outward normalcy, yet with an unmistakable sense of tension beneath the surface.

I stayed at the Sheraton Hotel, which in itself felt surreal given the wider political and security environment. Much of the trip was fascinating, but it was also difficult and at times deeply uncomfortable. Temperatures climbed above 50°C, movement was closely watched, and Iraqi security monitored us throughout. It was impossible to forget that this was not ordinary travel, but a visit taking place under a heavy atmosphere of control, uncertainty, and pressure.

What remains with me is the contrast: moments of professional exchange and hospitality alongside the constant awareness of surveillance and instability. The trip offered a rare glimpse into Iraq at a very specific historical moment, just before events would reshape the country completely.

These photographs document that journey — not only the official purpose of the visit, but also the mood of Baghdad at the time, the strange stillness of certain places, and the feeling of moving through a country on the edge of major change.