I was in Baghdad (also Mosul, Karbala, Najaf, Nineveh) 19 years ago; it was an impressive city. They unveiled the swords in the background the very week I was there; there were celebrations in Sa'adoun street and all over the Tigris (Dijla) strip on Abu Nuwas. I suppose many Iraqis miss that Baghdad. As a westerner, and a very agnostic one at that, I was even able to visit Karbala on Ashura without any trouble from fanatics of any kind; in fact, the regular army even protected me when I faced some curious gazes and questions from a mullah in the Husseiniyeh shrine. A solider looked and yelled at the mullah to shut up, and told him in Arabic (I understood) that as a tourist I was welcome to go into the building. I'm not sure I would try that stunt today... The funny thing is, I went to Baghdad after working on an archaeological dig in Jordan. I had the chance to visit Cairo also. I chose Baghdad because, as I told a friend, "Cairo I can visit anytime, who knows if Baghdad will be standing a few years from now".....
I'm hoping Teheran does not go the kind of 'transformation' witnessed in Baghdad.
Last edited on Fri Apr 4th, 2008 07:51 pm by Alessandro
|
