Greetings from Baghdad, where Agatha Christie's old home presents its own mystery

By 

Jane Arraf

This, according to Iraq's culture ministry, is the one-time home of English mystery novelist Agatha Christie, on the banks of the Tigris River in Baghdad.

Fittingly, the abandoned house has its own mystery: why it's been left to decay over the last century.

Christie made dozens of trips to Iraq, including the one where she met her archaeologist husband, Max Mallowan, in 1930. They Came to Baghdad and Murder in Mesopotamia were two of her novels set in Iraq.

As for the house, it's a heritage property controlled by Iraq's culture ministry. The Iraqi government says it's willing to make the house available to anyone who will restore it. It is padlocked and literally falling down.

When we visited this month, there was a $200 electricity bill stuffed into a hole in the door — apparently reflecting years of unpaid bills in its more recent history.

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Iraq

Baghdad

Agatha Christie

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