Here’s an article from 2009 about the re-opening of the ancient site of Babylon together with Hussein’s 1985 reconstruction of the great palace that he built for himself. Be sure to watch and listen to the “Audio Slide Show.”
Remember, this was reported in 2009. What’s the news today?
This is fascinating. On one hand, it’s horrible to think that Americans have done so much damage to such a culturally and historically valuable city. However, on the other hand, it is certainly possible that the troops’ presence has deterred looting and pilfering.
All in all, I just hope that Babylon is one day returned to its former glory–that would be wonderful to see.
It is scary how easily such an important piece of history can be destroyed, and even heartbreaking that we americans have played a role in such destruction. Although, it is nice to know that the presence of united states troops in these historical areas have possibly prevented theft and looters. It would be simply magnificent to see a reconstruction of such a fascinating and elaborate historical site.
This is a sad case where greed and lack of respect for history destroys a very large and important piece of the human story. It also shows some of the issues with Iraq’s government as Mr. Rashid says “the federal government is weak.” This weakness is causing frustration for the Ministry of Culture, who has not even had time to assess the damage the foreign military bases have already caused to the structure.
It is unfortunate that sacred places like these are being destroyed. We are lucky to have some protected by soldiers on a day to day basis. My main concern is how do they protect certain objects from being stolen? To be safe places like these should have an area where items can be stored away for protection from possible looters. on another note I think it is pretty cool that they let people tour Babylon. Whats interesting about this story was the reconstruction. I always felt that rebuilding something can take away the historical context. In other words its not the same.