Tikrit is a town in the Al Jazira region of Iraq. It is best known for being the birthplace of Iraq's former dictator Saddam Hussein and the Ayyubid Sultan, Saladin.

Get in

Tikrit is along highway 1, running between Baghdad and Mosul, driving distance from Baghdad is about 170 km. The road is fully usable and there are buses plying the route, however there has been incidents of robbery and hijackings. Also, the rail line between the same cities also passes by Tikrit, however there are been no service for more then a decade. Some rehabilitation are underway, but don't hold your breath for the restart of passenger services. The old 1 Tikrit railway station is located west of city centre.

There are no airports in the vicinity, with Baghdad being the nearest major airport.

See

Former presidential palace, overlooking the Tigris river.

• 1 Saint Ahoadamah Church. Also known as the Green church, this Syriac Orthodox church was built around 700 AD. It was largely destroyed in 2014 by ISIS. (updated Feb 2019)
• 2 Former presidential palace. One of the largest palace complexes used by former president and dictator Saddam Hussein. Damaged in combat several times but still a very impressive compound. (updated Feb 2019)