I. The City of Babylon

Headlines From Babylon|
A Triage to Save the Ruins of Babylon
New York Times ● By: Steven Lee Meyers ● Published: January 2, 2011|
The fate of Babylon is already being disputed by Iraqi leaders, with antiquities officials clashing with local authorities over when to open it to visitors and how to exploit the site for tourism…Even now they are clashing over whether the admission fee should go to the antiquities board or the provincial government…|Mr. Allen, who oversees the fund’s work, said the preservation of Babylon would require collaboration among competing constituencies that is extremely rare amid Iraq’s political instability. “We’re looking at the economic opportunities and viability for local people. They need to see something out of this site. (Money!)|
Attack on Ancient Babylon
CBS News ● September 24, 2009 ● 10:11 AM|
UNESCO aims to make the 4,000-year-old city (Babylon) fit for the coveted title of World Heritage site, and will work to enforce international conventions on the protection of historic sites "so that what happened to Babylon can't ever happen again," …Archaeologist John Curtis of the British Museum, who inspected the site just after it was returned to Iraqi control and it was too soon to assess the cost of restor-|ring and fully protecting the site…Several initiatives to save Babylon have been announced in recent years, but have made little headway. Now, with the decline of violence in Iraq, hopes are pinned on a two-year, $700,000 project financed by the U.S. State Department to develop a program aimed at balancing tourism and archaeology at Babylon.|
Unesco Intends to Put the Magic Back in Babylon
The New York Times ● By Jeffrey Gettleman ● Published: Thursday, April 13, 2006|
BABYLON, Iraq — In this ancient city, it is hard to tell what are ruins and what is just ruined. Babylon, the city with the million-dollar name, has paid the price of war. It has been ransacked, looted, torn up, paved over, neglected and roughly occupied…But Iraqi leaders and UN officials are not giving up on it. They are working to restore Babylon, home to the Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. They want a cultural center and even an Iraqi theme park. Hilla's mayor, has big plans for Babylon. "I want restaurants, gift shops, long parking lots," he said. “God willing,” he added, “maybe a Holiday Inn.”| The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is pumping millions of dollars into Babylon and other sites. It has even printed a snazzy brochure to give to wealthy donors. "Cultural tourism could become Iraq's second biggest industry, after oil," explained a United Nations official helping with the project…
The Future of Babylon Project is a partnership of the World Monuments Fund, a New York-based nonprofit organization, and Iraq's State Board of Antiquities.| I. The City of Babylon