My first excursion

I was fortunate to be included in a tour of Believer's Palace, an enormous structure built over a series of underground corridors from where it is rumored Saddam presided over the country before fleeing Baghdad permanently in 2003. The palace was probably beautiful in its own right, even if it was only for show. Under the rubble are marble floors. Shattered chandeliers can be seen all throughout. The destruction is awe-inspiring, and the US only hit it with three missles. It has now been completely looted, and has a heavy, noticeably empty and cold feel to it. The picture above is of our group beginning the descent into the bunker area under the Palace. I went with a Danish entourage, and the Danish guards seen here were most entertaining. All speak English well, turns out later they are good cooks, and they seem to be very professional. Actually, in general, the military guys here are all polite and professional.

The picture to the left was taken down in the Bunker. I call this the Control Room. Certainly it wasn't the main control room. But the schematics and all the buttons on the board make it seem like it could have easily served as...well, perhaps a back-up control room! The bunker area below was completely untouched by the missiles, although some people believe that there are two additional floors, deeper into the earth, which have been flooded. The bunker area has suffered from widespread looting as well. Everything from sink faucets to light bulbs and electric switches have been lifted. War booty, although I would guess that most of it has not ended up in the hands of people who actually participated in the war. The locally employeed staff at the embassy have expressed great sadness at the fact that most of the country's national treasures have been stolen or destroyed. Its an odd human tendancy. We collect, pack away, and hold on to all sorts of objects, but rarely do we consider or act upon the ideas behind them. (For more--and better--photos of Believer's Palace, check out the link from the Title of this entry.)

Outside of Believer's Palace is a high tower with a spiraling staircase that climbs a dozen stories at least. The view was the best I'll likely have of Baghdad during my tour. I must admit that I had moments of panic as I skipped over steps that had been shredded by sniper fire. Unfortunately, I had worn a bright red t-shirt that day, and was suddenly feeling very exposed. But, it eventually became a busy tourist day at the top: Danish soldiers, American soldiers, diplomats, visitors--a good mix. I guess when the tower is open, why not take the opportunity to look out over the Tigris river, and what was once the cradle of civilization. It is still quite a beautiful view, although I understand many neighborhoods look much like the Believer's Palace. This view is to the east from the tower, looking over Saddam's main palace (the long structure with the green dome in the center). Although I do not work in this building, most embassy employees do. And, I live near it. My trailer is just to the right of the palace.

The day was quite exciting. The Danish Ambassador invited us back to the Danish Embassy for drinks, and the Danish soldiers invited us to stay for dinner. Clearly a perk of being among the few women in the International Zone, but enjoyable still. There was a plan to go out that evening to one of the many "exclusive" bars in the zone, but an Iraqi gov't declared curfew sent us all home around nine o'clock. Bars are exclusive because there is so little to do, they would be swamped with people if they weren't. That being said, even the most exclusive rarely turn away women. The curfew was in anticipation of Saturday's constitutional referendum. Voting booths are almost closed here in Iraq, and it has been a relatively quiet day, at least around the International Zone. Some fire fell into the zone today, but I was blissfully unaware!

The Believer's Palace was hit with fire the next. That red-shirt was clearly a bad idea.