Iraqi Dinar-For Those Of You Who Say We Should Have Never Gone In...

...THEN NOTHING WOULD HAVE CHANGED!

Saddam's palace still tells a story

Tim Albone, Foreign Correspondent

Last Updated: March 23. 2009 8:30AM UAE / March 23. 2009 4:30AM GMT

Schoolchildren tour Saddam Hussein’s Babylon palace, which retains little of its former glory. Tim Albone for The National

BABYLON, IRAQ // It sits atop a man-made hill overlooking the ancient city of Babylon. In its prime – with its swimming pool, Roman-inspired columns, chandeliers and bathrooms complete with jacuzzis – it was a testament to the gluttony of the Baathist regime.Today, gutted and looted, Saddam Hussein’s three-storey palace that overlooks the Euphrates River only hints at its former glory. The windows are smashed, the chandeliers broken and the swimming pool empty. The furniture is gone and the walls are covered in graffiti. Even the toilets have been removed. It serves as a graphic reminder of the pillaging and looting that went unpunished and unchecked after the US-led invasion of 2003.

Whereas once Saddam would have entertained guests and heads of state with sumptuous feasts and lavish parties at the estate, today schoolchildren visit. “They want to see how Saddam lived and how bad he was with the people. If you go to Hillah [a nearby town] you will see the small houses,” said Hussam Kadhim, 44, the manager of the site. He hopes that by showing the palace, decrepit as it is, the inequality of the former regime can be highlighted. While the ruler lived in luxury, most of the population remained poor.

Mr Kadhim, who works for the local government, said plans were under way to redevelop the site and turn it into a conference centre.He said it could, if security improved, even draw people from abroad for conferences. With its proximity to the ancient city of Babylon, luring archaeological buffs is another possibility.“They have a plan … and they [the government] are giving us the money to renovate.

Mr Kadhim estimates that to get the palace back to its former glory would cost about seven billion Iraqi dinar (Dh22 million).Already nearly 1,000 people a day come to visit and pay 1,000 dinar just to look at the building and to have a picnic in the grounds. Although some out-of-towners have visited, the majority come from nearby Hillah. Despite security concerns – a suicide bomb killed 10 people in Hillah this month – redevelopment has already started at a rapid pace. Chalets that used to house soldiers from Saddam’s special forces and presidential guard have been turned into hotel rooms. For 200,000 dinar you can rent a room complete with private bathroom, widescreen television and king-size bed.

Mr Kadhim has already had Ahmed Chalabi, the former deputy prime minster, as a guest. He hopes that, in time, the proximity to Baghdad and the luxury will draw couples and honeymooners.“It wasn’t even in my dreams that one day he [Saddam] would be gone and people could come here. They would have been arrested,” said Mr Kadhim, who worked as a government employee under Saddam.As the site has opened up it has offered some remarkable insights into the megalomania of the former ruler. The man-made hill, on which he built his palace, was placed on top of some of Babylon’s ancient ruins.

“They are lost forever,” said Abdul Satar Naji, 46, the security manager at the site.Then there is Saddam’s date tree. No different to the hundreds of others that dot the grounds except that it is surrounded by a concrete wall. “It was Saddam’s date tree and he made people take special care of it, only he could eat from it,” Mr Naji said.The bricks inscribed with immodest poetry about the “great Saddam” hint at his arrogance.

The Americans, who occupied the palace until 2005, have left their own mark. “To my Mom and Dad Happy Mothers/Fathers day. From Saddam Palace 30 April 05 Love your son Roy,” reads one scrawl. “Hooah”, says another in reference to the army’s battle cry. A third says: “Brian loves Brandy.” The crude graffiti adds to the sense of frustration felt by those who work at the palace. Not only did the Americans come in and draw on the walls, looters were allowed to take millions of dinar’s worth of fixtures and furniture immediately after the invasion and right under the American’s noses.

“The Americans allowed people to take everything,” Mr Naji, said. Despite the massive redevelopment needed, Iraqis visiting the site were happy just to marvel at the sheer size of the palace.“When I first visited I couldn’t believe how big it was. I got sick walking up the stairs,” said Mr Naji, the security manager.“I’ve been here three years and I can’t tell you how many bedrooms or bathrooms there are.”

“Before we were prevented from coming here, we just heard about it on TV,” said Saha Shokil, a headmistress, who had brought 250 pupils to visit.Ali, 21, a student, dressed in a smart suit, said: “It’s bigger than I thought. I can’t imagine how he lived.”His friend, Mohammed, 20, also a student, said: “It makes me angry. Saddam used to live here and we were poor.”