Iraq Rids Ancient Babylon of Saddam Brick by Brick
Sun April 20, 2003 11:17 AM ET
By Saul Hudson BABYLON, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqis want to wipe out the hated name of Saddam Hussein, but in the ancient city of Babylon they will have to do it brick by brick. At the reconstructed palace of King Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon, a cradle of civilization and one of the jewels in Iraq's rich archeological crown, the latest man to rule for decades has also left his imprint. Saddam's name is inscribed in flowing script on row after row of sand-colored bricks that are built into the walls of the palace's imposing courtyards, arched gates, and angular towers. "Saddam Hussein, the protector of Iraq, rebuilt civilization and rebuilt Babylon," proclaim hundreds and hundreds of bricks placed at eye-level for the edification of tourists and festival-goers. "Putting his own name on these bricks just shows Saddam is crazy. He is only interested in himself," Hossein Mosim, a local farmer, said during a visit to the site on Sunday. Since the U.S.-led ouster of Saddam, Iraqis have attacked the ubiquitous images of their former leader, scratching his mustachioed face from posters, chiselling his eyes out of mosaic frescoes or beheading his statues. But in Babylon, famed for its ancient hanging gardens, palace curator Mohammed Thaer said removing Saddam's legacy would take time -- especially as he first had to repair the site's museum that looters have ransacked in the postwar power vacuum. Still, he said there would be plenty of volunteers to rip out the bricks that he called an insult to Iraq's proud ancient history of Sumerians, Assyrians and Babylonians. "Saddam only restored this site to show off and put his name everywhere," Thaer said. "It's not going to be easy, but we will destroy his stupid bricks." SADDAM INITIALS DECORATE PALACE Looming over Nebuchadnezzar's site is one of the hundreds of Saddam's own palaces -- complete with his initials ornately carved into the outer columns of the three-storey building of marbled floors and carved wooden panels. Built on a hilltop covered with palm trees and flanked by canals of clear-blue water, Iraqis have now looted the complex, stripping it of furniture, light sockets and plumbing fixtures. Gun-topped U.S. humvees surround what has become a tourist attraction for Marines. "This guy sure loved himself," said Staff Sergeant James Starkey, pointing out Saddam's initials as he stepped through shattered glass and broken tiles. Other Marines snapped photographs of chandeliers, carried off banister railings as war trophies and scrawled graffiti on broken window-panes in honor of their girlfriends. Out of the reach of looters, a bright ceiling painting in the spacious ballroom depicted Iraqi history from the Babylonian King Hammurabi to its present-day oil wells. "It's disgusting that he had all that money for a palace and didn't spend it on electricity, schools or houses. He must have hated the Iraqi people," Thaer said. "Well, we hated him too." |
