Iraq

Lore & Background

Iraq in the Uncharted universe is inextricably linked to the legend of Ubar, the 'Atlantis of the Sands.' According to the game's lore, this ancient city was a hub of immense wealth and power, but was destroyed by divine wrath for its sins, swallowed by a sinkhole in the Rub' al Khali desert. The city's location was lost for millennia, its existence dismissed as myth until clues from Sir Francis Drake's ring and the writings of T.E. Lawrence point Nathan Drake toward the Iraqi desert.

In Their Own Story

The jeep groaned over another dune, the sun a white-hot brand hammering the sky. Nate squinted at the compass in his palm; the needle spun like a trapped insect. 'We're close,' he said, barely audible over the wind's shriek. Sand hissed across the cracked windshield, scouring the glass. Then the ground dropped. The jeep lurched, tires losing grip as they slid into a vast, bowl-shaped depression. Below, half-buried in the sand, the crumbling towers of Ubar rose like broken teeth. Nate's breath caught. 'There she is,' he whispered. 'The Atlantis of the Sands.' Elena gripped the door handle, her eyes wide. 'It's real. It's all real.'

Reader's Guide

The Iraq section of *Uncharted 3* is a masterclass in environmental storytelling and set-piece design. The real-world inspiration draws from the Rub' al Khali (Empty Quarter) and the archaeological mystery of Ubar, a lost city sometimes linked to the Dhofar region of Oman but placed in Iraq for the game's narrative. The campaign's final chapters take place in a vast, open desert, transitioning from a tense vehicle chase through sandstorms to a treacherous on-foot descent into the ruins of Ubar.

Traversal challenges include navigating unstable cliff faces that crumble underfoot, collapsing stone archways that demand split-second timing, and deep sinkholes that swallow the unwary. The level design emphasizes verticality and environmental puzzles, such as aligning ancient mechanisms to open pathways—each gear and lever etched with warnings in a forgotten script. Set-pieces include a dramatic truck chase across the dunes, where sand devils claw at the vehicle, and a frantic escape from a collapsing underground city as the ceiling rains stone. Lore is embedded in the ruins themselves: carvings and murals depict Ubar's rise—a city of gold and incense—and its fall, swallowed by divine wrath. Scattered journal entries from T.E. Lawrence and other explorers hint at the city's cursed history, with one note reading, 'The sand does not forget. It only buries.' The final confrontation with Talbot takes place in the city's central chamber, where the legendary incense of Ubar is revealed to be a hallucinogenic substance, not a treasure—a final, cruel trick of the desert.

Did You Know?

• The depiction of Ubar in *Uncharted 3* is inspired by the real-world archaeological site of Ubar, also known as the 'Atlantis of the Sands,' which was discovered in the 1990s using satellite imagery.
• The game's desert sequences were influenced by the films *Lawrence of Arabia* and *The Mummy*, blending historical adventure with supernatural elements.
• The Rub' al Khali desert, where the Iraq levels are set, is one of the largest sand deserts in the world, covering parts of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, and the UAE.
• The hallucinogenic incense found in Ubar is a fictional element, but frankincense, a real resin from the region, was historically used in ancient rituals and trade.