Between the legacy of the past and the aspirations of the future, Babylon is tall among the sands of history witnessing the greatness of its empire, receiving its visitors with its archaeological treasures and preparing them with an unforgettable trip through the pages of history, while efforts continue to restore its full brilliance and turn it into a global tourist destination par excellence.
While visitors wander around the tall monuments of Babylon, 85 km south of Baghdad, the efforts of officials at the local and national levels to return Babylon to its decent place on the global tourism map, driven by plans to develop its infrastructure and restore its civilized luster.
A journey through time
At the heart of this historical scene, Mohamed Taher Abbas, the official of the Archaeological Guidance Unit in the city of Babylon, explains the wealth of the tourist attractions that await visitors in Babylon.
“The interesting journey begins from the ancient Babylonian theater, passing through the Monument of Ishtar Al -Hadith, which evokes the bone of originally preserved in Germany. The visitors continue to explore them in the Babylon Museum, which includes live evidence between the city’s history, up to the majestic procession and the remains of the northern palace of Nabbat Nasr, which is the first museum in ancient history.”
The archaeological counseling official continued, “The tour is only completed by reflecting on the internal walls of the city and the southern palace that embraces the throne hall and the famous base of the basements,” the archaeological counseling official said.
Abbas adds that the Babylon Tower is a global tourist landmark with distinction, as the historical and religious stories and narratives that have been associated with pushing visitors are passionately to search for its effects, pointing to the vital role played by the archaeological guidance unit, which includes a group of writers, archaeologists and translators, in providing documented information to visitors, based on evidence that was reprinted in cooperation with authors from Babylon and also from the festival Babel Cultures.
The March of the discovery of Babylon continues via the procession Street in the north to reach the loud “Babylon”, where the unit provides detailed explanations on this statue, which represents an authentic symbol of the city, its strength, and slogan that King Nebuchadnezzar II adopted, which means “Babylon crushes enemies”, this stone statue that depicts a lion above a person representing the enemy, currently settling on a modern base to protect his original base.
Babylon Museum
Ahmed Qutaiba, the assistant director of the Babylon Museum, stresses the great importance of the museum in attracting official and diplomatic delegations and tourists from all over the world.
During his talk to Al -Jazeera Net, Qutaiba describes the museum as one of the most important sites in the archaeological city, where the specialized cadre receives visitors and provides them with adequate explanations on the city, the museum’s holdings distributed in four main halls, the first displays the various ages of government and the most famous kings, while the second embraces pictures of European painters on the Babylon tower and gypsum monuments, and two original pieces of muffle murals.
Qutaiba explains that the explanations presented dealt with the history of the civilization of Iraq and the Babylon civilization, which was dominated by the global trade routes for its strategic location, so that the visitor will enjoy the end of his tour in a comprehensive way for the treasures of the museum and the archaeological city.
Residence and transportation
Regarding the residence options in Babylon or its proximity, the tourist guide, Ahmed Al -Janabi, told Al -Jazeera Net that “within the same archaeological city, the visitor may find some small houses that offer a simple living experience close to local airspace, however, the vast majority of visitors prefer to stay in hotels available in nearby cities, foremost of which is the city of Hilla, which (Babylon) is only ten kilometers.”
“Al -Hilla has medium and good hotel options, which provide visitors with the comfort and basic services they need during their stay. Also, visitors who plan to visit other cities such as Karbala or Najaf can choose to stay in the hotels of those cities and allocate a day to visit Babylon.”
As for food options, some simple restaurants and cafes are available near the archaeological site of Babylon, adding Ahmed Al -Janabi, but more diverse options await visitors in the city of Hilla.
According to the tourist guide, the private car or renting a taxi remains the most comfortable and flexible option to reach the ancient city of Babylon from the neighboring Iraqi cities, and public buses linking Hilla with Babylon are available, but it may be less comfortable and take longer.
Ahmed Al -Janabi explained that another option available is to join an organized tourist tour, as these tours usually include providing a comfortable transportation and tourist guide that provides adequate explanations within the archaeological site, and to wander inside the ancient city of Babylon itself, it is preferable to walk on foot to enjoy all the details of the historical site.
It is preferable for visitors to Babylon – according to Al -Janabi – to wear comfortable clothes and take precautions from hot sunlight in the area, while drinking enough water.
Plans to develop
The governor of Babylon Adnan Fayhan says in a statement to Al -Jazeera Net that the governorate pays great attention to comprehensive improvements to the archaeological environment in the city with the aim of turning it into an attractive tourist destination and restoring its global position.
Fayhan notes the existence of full coordination and cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities and the General Authority for Antiquities and Heritage to develop and improve the archaeological environment, and to meet the requirements for the inclusion of Babylon within the list of the United Nations Educational and Culture Organization (UNESCO) for World Heritage.
In 2019, UNESCO decided to re -include Babylon within the World Heritage List, but provided that the changes that occurred on the archaeological city were removed, the most prominent of which is the oil pipeline, Saddam Palace, urban crawl, water swamps and the crawl of housing.
The governor stresses that protecting the archaeological city from encroachments and sabotage falls within the priorities of the governorate, as the Supreme Security Committee undertakes and implementing special security plans to preserve the city and its contents.
Fayhan expresses his regret for the suffering of the archaeological city for many years of neglect and lack of funding, noting that the amount of $ 250 million in the federal budget for 2019 under the title “Babylon is the capital of Iraqi civilization”, which has not been spent yet.
The governor of Babylon pointed to ongoing conversations with the ministries of planning and finance to re -allocate this amount, adding that advanced steps were taken to qualify one of the palaces inside the archaeological city and convert it into a museum to display the important archaeological holdings in the Iraqi Museum and the archaeological pieces of Babylon in other international museums, in agreement with these museums to transport and display them in their original location.
The governor revealed that there are projects under study and implementation, including hotels and infrastructure development in the city of Babylon, and the development of roads and streets leading to the city.
Tourists praise
A number of foreign tourists expressed their fascination and amazement by visiting the effects of Babylon, as the Chinese tourist Victor Lu says, “It is a great honor for me to stand today in the city of Babylon, the cradle of civilization and the country between Mesopotamia that have always captured my imagination. The vision of history is embodied in front of me in this living and amazing way that exceeds all my perceptions.”
“Based on our common belief in our ancient history and culture, I came here with the aim of deepening the understanding of ancient Iraqi civilization. What I saw here in Babylon is really surprising,” the Chinese tourist added.
As for the Canadian tourist Tony Johnson, he describes his experience, saying, “The presence in Babylon is like crossing over time. I did not imagine the greatness of this place except through what I saw in my childhood. It is a wonderful thing to witness the efforts of Iraq and its government to revive this great legacy.”
While the Spanish tourist Jose Garcia says that “after a long journey to Iraq, I find me today in front of the historic treasures of Babylon. I can say with confidence that this visit is one of the most beautiful experiences that I have gone through in my life.”