All Maps of Iraq Bought up in Moscow

It became virtually impossible to obtain a single map of Iraq or the Persian Gulf in Moscow shops and kiosks yesterday. As RTR television company reports, the entire stock of such maps were bought up several days before the outbreak of the war. All the detailed color maps of Baghdad and other cities in the region disappeared from shop counters as well as guidebooks showing the airports, excursion routes and historical sights. The maps were mostly bought by students, journalists, historians and office workers. The shortage of such maps means that customers are now having to resort to school atlases of the world. Interest in the Iraq crisis is also leading the Moscow population to buy books for geologists and other reference books, which contain small maps of Iraq.