Night time

Nights here cool off quite a bit from daytime temperatures. It doesn't get cold, at least not unless you keep your air conditioning turned up all the way (which I do, I'd rather huddle under a blanket getting good sleep than toss and turn because I'm too warm). But it does cool off nicely to where the welcome breeze actually feels like it's slightly below body temperature.

The night sky over Baghdad is an odd colour. There's enough light pollution to make sure you can't see much in the way of stars, but even if there weren't, the smog and dust and smoke haze would prevent it. The result is a kind of bruise-coloured purple on the horizons and a flat dull ceiling looking straight up.

American helos don't fly with lights on for obvious reasons, but they do fly low enough to be visible in the murk. They're typically a vague silhouette, looking like some chitinous flying beetle as they fly overhead low enough to see what you're having for dinner.

You get a very closed-in feeling in the IZ, between that low-hanging sky/ceiling and the maze of T-walls.