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Iraq’s thermal spa poised for facelift

Tourists are returning to Mosul's Hammam al-Alil spa, which used to attract thousands of people to its healing waters before the Islamic State took control of the city.
An Iraqi cover his boy with sand from a sulfur pond at Hammam al-Alil city south of Mosul, Iraq April 3, 2017. Picture taken April 3, 2017. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem       TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX3403L
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The Hammam al-Alil spa — historical baths near Mosul — has hosted an average of 200 people every day since its reopening in April. But this is still a far cry from its days of glory, when thousands of people came to the hot springs and the beautiful scenery around it every day.

The clientele, mostly locals and the soldiers in the region, pay an entry fee to the spa of 1,000 Iraqi dinars, about 85 US cents.

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