Babylon, cradle of civilisation

Karbala to Babylon

Today is the day we go visit one of the cradles of civilisation, Babylon.

We left our Karbala hotel by foot around 0900, after breakfast, headed to the garage which had minivans for Hilla.  It was about a 30 min walk and we were fortunate to find a van that was nearly full straight away.

After about an hour, we were dropped off on a busy road in Hilla where we managed to find a taxi that would take us to Babylon, wait and drop us back.  Hilla was surprisingly big and busy as I had expected it to be a small town.

Exploring Babylon

We got to the Babylon archaeological site around 1100 and paid for our entrance.  Unlike at Ur, we were given an official ticket.  Our driver parked near the turquoise Ishtar Gate where we began our exploration.

The Ishtar Gate here is a reproduction with painted rather than glazed bricks.  I’ve seen the real thing in the Pergamon museum in Berlin but as we explored the site here, I realised that the real Ishtar gate is located a short walk from the reproduction.  It still stands partially and what is in Berlin is probably not complete.

Even though Babylon goes back to the 19^th Century BC, the more famous buildings are from around 6^th Century BC.  The site here is largely reconstructed and/or restored.  The Tower of Babel and Hanging Gardens are pending construction, Disney-fashion, perhaps.

Our exploration took us to a small palace being rebuilt before we found main part of the rebuilt/restored area, which is the Southern Palace.  Supposedly Alexander the Great died here in 323 BC.

Outside of the recreated Ishtar gate were a couple of other temples and a Babylonian house in various states of restoration.

Our hospitable driver led us by foot on the road leading to the ticket gate, to the large amphitheatre which we weren’t interested in.  We did find the remains of the Sargon Temple though.  It appeared to be an overgrown maze when we poked our head in but through Google’s satellite imagery, we had a better idea of its layout.

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Saddam’s Palace

We drove to the base of the hill below Saddam Hussein’s Babylon palace and parked there.  We paid a token fee to enter the site and walk up the hill to the palace.

From the front of the palace, I had an awesome view of Babylon.  Saddam’s initials were monogrammed into the façade of the building.

The guard allowed me 10 mins inside the palace but I didn’t make full use of it as E was behind me having taken the proper path rather than the shortcut.  And I had his ticket.

We left the Babylon site around 1320 and managed to get in a van bound for Karbala about 20 mins later, reaching the hotel around 1445.  It had been a successful outing without too much stress with the logistics.

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Back in Karbala

We rested till the evening.  E and I had a good chat after our little falling out yesterday with him taking the moral high ground about my photography in the shrines.  His migraine was fortunately on the way out.

Around 1800 we headed out to the Abbas and then Hussein shrines.  E hadn’t had a chance to see the them by night, inside or outside.  On the inside, the difference by night is the illuminated chandeliers which add an extra sparkle to the mirrored ceilings.

We had a simple Indian dinner before returning to the hotel around 2100.  We had asked the hotel to find us a private car for tomorrow, to take us to Taq Kisra and then Baghdad’s Alawi Garage.

Their driver came back at USD100 which the hotel said was too much.  They asked to go to a couple of travel company back in the shrine area.  Fortunately, one was still open and we managed to book a car for IQD80000, which is just over half of the first quote.

I sensed white privilege while organising the car.  I did most of the talking to the travel company as I speak better Arabic than E (but he understands better).  I noticed that the staff talked back to E rather than to me!  Or maybe it’s because he looks older and more distinguished with his white hair and beard.

On the walk back, we saw a sign for the Hidden Mahdi shrine.  We took a detour there but it wasn’t any spectacular after what we had seen here in Karbala and also in Najaf.  We returned to the room around 2200 to prepare for the tomorrow morning’s departure.