the cradle of civilisation

Iraq wasn't only about religion (and Hussein), of course.  It's also well-known as the 'Cradle of Civilisation', with amazing sites such as the above partially restored Ziggurat (temple) of Ur, built in the early Bronze age (in the 21st century BC) and crumbled to ruins by the 6th century BC.

Some places, such as Babylon which dates from the third century BC, did not need quite so much restoration as some of the old walls were still in place - including their incredible decorations such as this relief of the mythical mushkhushshu, of which there were many.

I'm quoting the age of these buildings as information for those reading this, but should perhaps admit that to me they are just 'old', and whilst I like old buildings in a general way, older doesn't necessarily mean better or more impressive.

What was surprising was the quantity of pieces of ceramics on the ground - mostly broken pieces of pot, but also quite a number of the ceramic 'plugs' that they used to make decorative features.  I asked if we should be walking where we were (as we stepped on the ceramics and probably broke some into smaller pieces) and the local archaeologist guide said that there is so much of it that they don't worry about either collecting it up or protecting it ... and I couldn't help but think of those two tourists who were imprisoned when a few pieces were found in their luggage at Baghdad airport.

Another one of the historical sites that I enjoyed was the eighth century minaret of the mosque at Samarra.  The main part of the mosque was destroyed in a thirteenth century invasion (and is now being restored), but thankfully the minaret was spared.  It is 52 metres high, and encircled by a spiral ramp which you are allowed to climb to the top.  A truly spectacular building that I'm sure would be overwhelmed with tourists were it in a different part of the world.

The ancient site of Babylon was overlooked by one of Saddam Hussein's many palaces - this one originally pretty sumptuous but now with broken windows and graffiti all over the walls.  Another of his palaces in Basra, overlooking the Shatt Al-Arab waterway, also looked as though it was impressive in its day.

The city of Basra - just south of the small remaining part of the marshes - had clearly once been an attractive place, and I was pleased to see that UNESCO were funding and overseeing a project to restore some of the old merchants' quarter of Shanasheel.  It briefly occurred to me that it might have been a good idea, earlier in my career, to have applied for a job as an internal auditor with UNESCO - imagine having to go and check on all of those UNESCO-listed sites around the world...