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Wednesday, January 4, 2006
History lesson softens war’s realities
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ur, Iraq — It almost felt like time travel.
Within minutes, the small bus and a few Humvees had transported the Georgia National Guard soldiers from the middle of a 21st-century military base to an ancient civilization.
From the modern wonders of sophisticated weaponry, Internet technology, cafeterias and laundromats, soldiers of the 48th Brigade Combat Team found themselves steeped in history, walking on grounds that were first settled in 4,000 BC.
Ur, capital of the once powerful Sumerian kingdom, had special meaning to the soldiers — Ur is believed to be the birthplace of Abraham, who some scholars call the father of Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
Once, the mighty Euphrates flowed through Ur. But over the years, the river changed its course, leaving the landscape a rugged vista of cracked earth and mud, hues of brown as far as the eye can see.
Surrounding the ziggurat lie the ruins of royal palaces, tombs and houses, some of them bolstered by reconstruction. Other parts remain as they were thousands of years ago.
“I think this is awesome,” said Spc. Bobby Cash, 28, a sheriff’s deputy from Augusta who serves in the brigade’s military police contingent. “You come here to Iraq to fight a war and get to see so much history.”
Like a holiday
For the Georgia soldiers, the outing felt like a mini holiday in the middle of a grinding yearlong deployment in the desert.
Ur, just outside of Nasiriyah, about 230 miles southeast of Baghdad, falls within the confines of Tallil Air Base, one of Saddam Hussein’s old military installations now used by U.S. forces. Part of the 48th Brigade has been stationed here since late October.
The ancient Mesopotamian city’s centerpiece is a five-floor-high ziggurat that can be easily seen from the road that winds past the chow hall, PX and brigade headquarters at Tallil. The brigade takes soldiers to the site for tours three times a week, a practice the 48th adopted from the Army unit it succeeded here.
Cash and about 20 other soldiers clicked their cameras as Dhaif Mohsen, the unofficial guide of the ancient city, led them through the ruins. He and two brothers have become caretakers of the property since the toppling of Saddam in April 2003.
Mohsen, 46, lives in the modest house in which he was born in the shadow of the imposing ziggurat, which archaeologists say is the most well preserved such structure from the age of the Sumerians. Mohsen’s grandfather and father worked on excavations at the site at various times.
The Sumerians built the terraced structure on top of a temple to the moon god Nanna. Mohsen said the ziggurat served also as administrative center for the city.
Structures similar to ziggurats have been discovered in other areas of the world — the Aztecs, for instance, built terraced temples for their gods. But none is as old as the ziggurats of Mesopotamia.
Brigade soldiers in the western Baghdad area visited another unusually well-preserved ziggurat built by the Kassite rulers of Old Babylonia in the 14th century B.C.
As the 48th Brigade soldiers began their tour, about a dozen Iraqi children in brightly colored clothes ran up to greet them at the base of the structure. The soldiers handed out food and toys before climbing the long, steep staircase.
“Before Muhammad and Jesus were here, the ziggurat was already ancient,” said Capt. Anthony Fournier, 38, a schoolteacher from Augusta who commands Charlie Company of the 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment. “Maybe it transcends the religious war going on.”
A view and opinions
In Ur, 48th Brigade soldiers climbed the hundreds of steps to the top of the ziggurat, from where they had a panoramic view of the countryside.
When Saddam came to power, he opened Tallil, much to the consternation of archaeologists who feared a military site so close to an ancient wonder would be damaging.
Tourism in Ur declined, especially after the eight-year Iran-Iraq War. Even those who managed to get permission to visit Ur were barred from climbing the ziggurat because of the views of the base.
Mohsen took the soldiers on a tour that lasted about 90 minutes. Bitter about Saddam’s persecution of Shiites in southern Iraq, the guide often included sharp political commentary with his colorful narration.
He told the soldiers that Saddam often compared himself to the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II.
“But Nebuchadnezzar didn’t dry up the marshes,” Mohsen said, referring to Saddam’s efforts to drive out the marsh Arabs from their homelands in southern Iraq. “Nebuchadnezzar didn’t put one million Iraqis in the ground.”
He led the soldiers to one of the tombs where the ground had caved in, leaving only a small, dark opening.
“They catch Saddam in a hole like this,” Mohsen said.
“There’s no love lost, is there?” said Maj. Dean Shoucair, 40, a doctor from Chicago who serves in the 148th Support Battalion’s Charlie Company.
‘This is pretty cool’
The 48th Brigade soldiers were keenly aware that not many Americans have had the opportunity to visit sites such as Ur.
“This is pretty cool,” said 1st Lt. Jonathan Fisher, 26, a schoolteacher from Fayetteville who serves as a chaplain with the 48th, as he stood in one of the courtyards in the house believed to be Abraham’s. “God called Abraham from this house. You don’t get this kind of history in America. This is ancient. This is a precursor to life.”
After many years of neglect, Mohsen said, Iraqi archaeologists are resuming excavations at Ur with United Nations funding.
“I’d like to see what else is under this ground we’re walking on,” said Pfc. Brent Register, a 19-year-old high school graduate from Augusta who works in brigade headquarters.
Mohsen said he hopes the renewed excavations will again spark tourism at Ur.
“This is important not only for Iraqis but for the rest of the world,” he said. “This city is holy land for three major religions.
“Ur means many things to me,” he continued. “This is my father’s home, my grandfather’s home. This is my civilization. My holy place.
“This is a very good thing that the American soldiers have come. They are taking pictures that they will take back to America. Everyone will see Ur.”
Spc. Nicholas Rogers, 22, a machine operator from Covington who works in brigade headquarters, said the soldiers were lucky to see the ruins.
“I think this is great,” he said. “We’re stepping on holy ground.”
