The ancient city of Babylon in central Iraq is of particular tourist importance as it includes a group of the most important historical monuments. The city is also famous for embracing the ruins of the Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Despite the disappearance of the old hanging gardens, Iraq decided in the thirties of the last century to build gardens at the top of a hill overlooking the city of Hilla, the center of Babylon Governorate, in order to commemorate the hanging gardens and an outlet for the city.

For decades, people have been accustomed to strolling in the gardens of Babylon, especially on holidays and occasions, but the conditions of the Corona pandemic during the past two years made the gardens lose their visitors, before they flourished again this year in conjunction with the decline of the Covid-19 epidemic.

The Babylonian theater is one of the most prominent landmarks of the city (communication sites)

The atmosphere of Eid has changed

The journalist Ahmed Al-Rikabi says that the Gardens of Babylon are of great historical importance to the residents of the governorate, as one of the wonders of the world, while some consider them just a myth.

He assures Al Jazeera Net that the Corona pandemic affected the number of visitors to parks in Babylon due to health restrictions, as well as the deterioration of the economic situation due to the impact of the pandemic and others.

Al-Rikabi points out that many Iraqi families prefer to visit these gardens on holidays, but the atmosphere of Eid has become completely different from previous years due to the health and economic conditions.

He explains that the park is in a miserable situation due to neglect and is no longer suitable for hiking, but families visit this place for the purpose of some entertainment and to get out of the daily pressures, stressing the need for government attention to these parks to suit their ancient historical name.

Al-Rikabi explains that the parks witness simple activities on Eid days, such as dancing, singing, reciting poetry, or decorating children and drawings for children in green spaces.

These gardens also contribute to the recovery of sales of street vendors scattered on their sides, and markets selling vegetables, clothes, household and food items are spread near them, and you can see very clearly the revival of sales, especially during this period, despite the lack of movement of people in general.


 Gardens where hearts belong

The Hanging Gardens are linked to the hearts of their visitors, as they are among the tourist places frequented by many Arab and foreign tourists after their visit to the ancient city of Babylon, according to the head of the most important agency for press and media, Haider Al-Amir.

And he added, in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net, that tourists stopped visiting it after the Corona pandemic, as is the case with any tourist attraction in Iraq, but after life began to return again in all countries of the world, it also returned to the tourist places, including these gardens, which are considered "food salt." As some tourists call it.

The prince states that the ruins of Babylon and its gardens with this history and beauty will embrace its visitors, welcoming them from every side and from every country.

Haider Al-Amir: The Hanging Gardens are linked to the hearts of Arab and foreign tourists (Al-Jazeera Net)

Unique architectural edifice

The head of the excavators of Babylon, Muhammad Taher Al-Khafaji, said that the departure of the Corona crisis globally contributed to the return of tourism activity in Iraq, especially in the ancient city of Babylon, described by the famous Greek traveler "Herodotus", nicknamed the father of history, as "the city that surpassed all the cities of the ancient world in its greatness."

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, he confirms that with the pandemic receding, the Iraqi government decided to open the Iraqi Museum and tourist attractions in front of tourists from Iraq and different nationalities, and the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities also encouraged tourism and provided services to tourists in Babylon and all of Iraq.

Al-Khafaji believes that the importance of the gardens is that they are a unique architectural edifice, despite the disappearance of most of their monuments from the past as a result of wars and the migration of the Babylonians to the city, the looting of bricks (a material used in construction), erosion and other factors.

He adds that the other importance of the Babylon Gardens is its impact on the hearts of Iraqis and foreign tourists to visit the city and learn about it, as it was one of the wonders of the world in Babylon, in addition to the impregnable city walls.

Al-Khafaji states that the ancient city of Babylon with all its sites, including the Hanging Gardens and the corridors leading to it in the Southern Palace, together constitute an aspect of pleasure and curiosity to visit the place and learn about its ruins.

The Lion of Babylon is one of the prominent landmarks in the historical city (Al-Jazeera Net)

Legendary Gardens

History professor Dr. Ahmed Hussein Al-Jumaili states that the Gardens of Babylon are legendary in their time, because they decorated the capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which was built by its greatest king, Nebuchadnezzar II.

He adds to Al-Jazeera Net that the novels mention that he built it for his wife, who hails from the Persian country of Media, which is a mountainous region, so he built the hanging gardens to please his wife so that she would not feel alienated and nostalgic for the mountainous areas, and it was called the hanging because it was in the form of terraces or terraces.

Al-Jumaili stressed the need for the state to pay attention to rebuilding and restoring ancient Babylon, and establishing a museum that includes the antiquities of Babylon, near the ancient city, in addition to building hotels and rest stations near it, in order to receive visitors who come from all countries of the world to see this region mentioned in the heavenly books.

He pointed out that after the invasion and the taking of the American invading forces in this region as a headquarters, and as a result of the military mechanisms, many of its landmarks were destroyed.

Archaeological Babylon is gaining a special tourist importance, as it includes a group of the most important historical monuments (communication sites)

Crush the Gardens of Babylon

A report issued by the British Museum and published by Al Jazeera Net in 2005 stated that the American and Polish military vehicles crushed the sidewalks of the ancient city of Babylon dating back to BC.

John Curtis, in charge of the Department of the Ancient Middle East at the British Museum, said in a report published in the Guardian newspaper, that the site was used as a military warehouse by these forces, expressing regret over the establishment of a base in an area considered one of the most important archaeological sites, which is - according to him - a new blow. of the cultural heritage of Iraq.

Al-Shammari considered that the services provided to visitors to Babylon do not rise to the importance of the city and its global fame (Al-Jazeera Net)

shrouded in mystery

For his part, the academic and researcher in archeology, Dr. Ibrahim Sarhan Al-Shammari, believes that the issue of the Hanging Gardens in the historical city of Babylon is tainted by ambiguity and ambiguity.

Despite the popularity of the gardens in historical and cultural circles, even being considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, in the archaeological aspect, foreign and national scientific archaeological excavations have not yet revealed real traces of those gardens.

Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Al-Shammari confirms that whoever visits Babylon today does not find what the narratives depicted in the history books that described these gardens in a fictional way, and there is only the palace that the late President Saddam Hussein built to overlook the ancient city and around it are rich gardens frequented by people today for entertainment.

Al-Shammari talks about the ancient city and its majestic architectural edifices of great palaces, not to mention the procession street whose walls are adorned with mural carvings of mythical dragons, lions and bulls, all symbols of the gods worshiped in the city, headed by the head of the council of gods and the great city god Marduk, who is symbolically represented by the legendary dragon at the gates The city and the procession street, and there are lanes for temples and residential houses, and this city is frequented by delegations and visitors from different countries of the world.

He points out that the services provided to visitors do not live up to the importance of the city and its global fame, especially as it is one of the sites registered on the World Heritage List, as it lacks the simplest services such as cleanliness, streets or paved paths and gardens for picnics and rest, and there are no service facilities such as hotels and restaurants.