Digital Media Center
Bryant-Denny Stadium, Gate 4
Box 870370
920 Paul Bryant Drive
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0370
205-348-6644

© 2026 Alabama Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Want to support this station? Make a donation or become a monthly contributing listener by clicking here!

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

Jane Arraf
/
NPR

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.

Copyright 2026 NPR

Jane Arraf covers Egypt, Iraq, and other parts of the Middle East for NPR News.
News from Alabama Public Radio is a public service in association with the University of Alabama. We depend on your help to keep our programming on the air and online. Please consider supporting the news you rely on with a donation today. Every contribution, no matter the size, propels our vital coverage. Thank you.