Babylon; the Tower of Babel; the Ziggurat of Ur. These are names that have resonated around the world for millennia. These, and many more ancient wonders, were all built in the lush valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in ancient Mesopotamia.
Today Iraq is a still treasure trove of historic wonders that many archaeologists argue is unrivalled in its importance to antiquity. If it weren’t for the current political instability and ongoing violence, this troubled nation would be rightly regarded as the region's top archaeological priority. The "land between the two rivers", known to historians as the cradle of civilisation, is home to the oldest cities in the world. But after nearly 15 years of conflict it seems that the clock is ticking on preserving these wonders from complete annihilation.
In September I visited Iraq as part of a journey around Arabia to document cultural heritage and sites of historical importance to the region. As a historian with a particular interest in archaeological preservation, I wanted to see with my own eyes how bad the reports of wreckage actually were. I spent two weeks surveying antiquities across the country all the way from the Kurdish North, through the Sunni heartlands and lands recaptured from ISIL, to the Shia south.
When ISIL attempted to destroy the Unesco world heritage site of Palmyra in Syria, there was, rightly, international outrage. But in Iraq equally tragic losses were suffered and many went unnoticed.
I had first visited Mosul in 2003 and been awestruck by how well-preserved the old walls of the ancient city of Nineveh were. In April last year, ISIL blew up the gateways and bulldozed much of the 4,000-year-old ruins. Not only that, the group desecrated the famous university library containing thousands of rare manuscripts as well as looting the world-renowned museum. The priceless artefacts were either destroyed or sold on the black market to sustain the terrorists' grip on the city.
ISIL intended to demonstrate its control over the present by eradicating history. It wasn’t merely an exercise in religious ideology but perhaps equally a method of psychological power play over inhabitants, to remove their sense of a pre-ISIL identity. In a world of chaos, it pays to pretend the world was no better before. The senseless destruction also seemed to appeal to the thugs that acted as ISIL henchmen during their reign. Smashing up statues and bulldozing ancient temples gave them something to do in between killing sprees.
ISIL didn’t limit its destruction to pre-Islamic architecture of course. The majority of its sacrilege was aimed towards Sufi shrines and Shia mosques across the country. It was part of a propaganda war to defeat the "near enemy" –namely, anyone who didn’t conform to Salafist fundamentalism. For the group, anything created by the hands of man that didn’t meet its creed was deemed idolatrous and un-Islamic or seen to uphold Iraqi nationalism, which went against its desire for a pan-Islamic caliphate.
Not all the destruction was intentional and deliberate though. "Collateral damage" resulted in the destruction of the Al-Nuri mosque, as well as the levelling of almost the entire old city in Mosul, and you only have to take the road south through to Baghdad to witness the heartbreaking vandalism of countless mosques and holy shrines like Samarra, the medieval former capital of the Abbasid caliphate, on the east bank of the Tigris. Some of the damage dates back to before the current insurgency. During the 2003 invasion both Saddam Hussein's troops and Americans contributed their fair share of devastation. In the southern deserts and plains, often the only raised features were the mounds of clay that represented the ancient cities of Sumerian civilisation. As a result, the Iraqi defenders often used them as defensive fortresses, haphazardly demolishing 7,000-year-old walls and temples. Likewise the American fighter pilots saw them as fair targets and strafed them without mercy.
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Some of the sabotage was subtler. The famous city of Babylon, a couple of hours drive south of Baghdad, offers visitors an odd and not entirely welcome surprise. Gleaming orange brick walls rise out of the desert in a shocking way. Saddam Hussein, in a bid to position himself as the more culturally refined dictator, had the palace rebuilt on top of the original site in new bricks. Many historians argue this was nothing more than a tasteless propaganda exercise to demonstrate his legitimacy as the nation's rightful leader. (The new bricks had his own name stamped on them alongside the ones bearing the name of the Biblical king Nebuchadnezzar, who imprinted his name on the bricks of every building project.)
That said, despite the fact it looks like it was built yesterday, there are still plenty of the original structures and reliefs intact. And at least there is a full-time security presence and an entry fee, which goes some way to preserving its integrity.
The same cannot be said for the ancient Sumerian temples of Eridu and Ur that lie in the southern deserts. Eridu, or what is left of it, is thought to be the world’s oldest city. Dating back to the first kingdom, it is more than 7,000 years old and some scholars claim that it was here that the Tower of Babel was actually located. Now it is nothing more than a crumbling mound of brick, rock and shards of pottery. All over the ground lie clay tablets covered in cuneiform writing –the world's earliest script – pieces that really belong in a national museum. What is worrying though is that this place is left unguarded and hasn’t been afforded any protection from looters or vandals since the security situation plummeted with the rise of ISIL. Nearby the Ziggurat of Ur, mentioned in the Book of Genesis, faces a similar threat. Thieves have already stolen many of the cuneiform tablets there and the walls are pockmarked with holes where tomb raiders have made off with priceless slabs.
So what does the future hold? In October the World Bank approved $400 million in additional funding to help rebuild those parts of Iraq liberated from ISIL. A small amount of that money has been pledged to restore cultural heritage sites such as the old city in Mosul and some of the damaged religious sites.
However, it’s unlikely that this money will reach the more remote sites that are equally deserving. The poor security situation, particularly on the fault lines of the sectarian divide, means that destruction will go on and each week that passes means that another decade or century disappears into dust. Until there is stability in Iraq, funds are not going to flow forth to pay for the restoration of mud walls and broken pots or teams of budding archaeologists. But if Iraq wants to preserve its glorious cultural legacy, it must remember that those who neglect history are doomed to repeat the same mistakes.
Levison Wood is a historian, documentary maker and the author of Eastern Horizons, recounting his trip along the Silk Road. He will be leading a travel writing masterclass at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in March next year
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Rocketman
Director: Dexter Fletcher
Starring: Taron Egerton, Richard Madden, Jamie Bell
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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AS IT STANDS IN POOL A
1. Japan - Played 3, Won 3, Points 14
2. Ireland - Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1, Points 11
3. Scotland - Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, Points 5
Remaining fixtures
Scotland v Russia – Wednesday, 11.15am
Ireland v Samoa – Saturday, 2.45pm
Japan v Scotland – Sunday, 2.45pm
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final
Kashima Antlers 3 (Nagaki 49’, Serginho 69’, Abe 84’)
Guadalajara 2 (Zaldivar 03’, Pulido 90')
TOP%2010%20MOST%20POLLUTED%20CITIES
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'Saand Ki Aankh'
Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
U19 World Cup in South Africa
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon
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Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Asia Cup Qualifier
Final
UAE v Hong Kong
TV:
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am
Drishyam 2
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy
Rating: 4 stars
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TWISTERS
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos
Rating: 2.5/5
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
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Places to go for free coffee
- Cherish Cafe Dubai, Dubai Investment Park, are giving away free coffees all day.
- La Terrace, Four Points by Sheraton Bur Dubai, are serving their first 50 guests one coffee and four bite-sized cakes
- Wild & The Moon will be giving away a free espresso with every purchase on International Coffee Day
- Orange Wheels welcome parents are to sit, relax and enjoy goodies at ‘Café O’ along with a free coffee
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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RESULTS
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
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Traits of Chinese zodiac animals
Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
