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DEL.ICIO.USBombs silence joy of once-hot resort
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Keith Hadley/AJC
"This place used to be full all the time, and now it's empty," said Dr. Dhiaa Forhan Al-Jumaily, recalling the heyday of Iraq's Tourist City. • Photos
Habaniya, Iraq — The blue-green waters of Lake Habaniya lap the shore next to a darkened and desolate discothèque. A rusting Ferris wheel stirs in the wind. Thick layers of dust coat the billiard tables in the hotel.
Before the U.S. invasion in 2003, getting a reservation at this sprawling lakeside resort required some influence. Known as Tourist City, this French-built getaway was a favorite destination for vacationers, including Saddam Hussein’s son, Udday.
Now, the pink and cream-colored cabanas are forlorn and empty save a handful that are home to 27 refugee families from the nearby city of Fallujah.
Tourist City, according to its managers, is a victim of this country’s continuing instability, terrorism and chronic power outages.
The refugees who live here claim their homes were destroyed or they were forcefully evicted from their houses, said the U.S. soldiers who patrol this area. It is unclear how they are living at the resort for free.
Meanwhile, even though the hotel has no guests, the Iraqi government inexplicably continues to pay the salaries of 229 workers, including cooks and restaurant managers.
“We used to get a lot of visitors. The employees are lonely. There is no work. Nobody comes here,” said Amir Hameed, 49, of Ramadi, the resort’s general manager.
A many as 500 guests from Europe and other Arab countries showed up at the resort every day after it opened in 1979, Hameed said. They would hang out at the tiki bar on the beach, stroll through the shopping center or watch a show at the outdoor theater.
Now looted and empty, Tourist City resembles the film set for a post-apocalyptic movie. But the gulls wheeling overhead and the sounds of the lake give the resort the feel of an oasis in Iraq, albeit one with a distinctly polyester style.
“At one time, this was a happening spot,” said Staff Sgt. James Buol, 31, of Madison, Wis., whose platoon patrols this area in the Al Anbar province. “It almost makes you think you are not in Iraq.”
Buol is a member of the Urbana, Ill.-based 2nd Battalion, 130th Infantry Regiment, which is assigned to Georgia’s 48th Brigade Combat Team. The 130th patrolled parts of the Baghdad area — including the Abu Ghraib neighborhood — before moving to Camp Taqaddum in November.
Since their arrival, soldiers have found two roadside bombs planted at Tourist City. Blast craters mark the spots in the parking lot where they were discovered.
A public health clinic operates out of the resort, and Dr. Dhiaa M. Forhan Al-Jumaily pleaded with soldiers for medical supplies, especially water purification tablets. He said he has treated many cases of chronic diarrhea and vomiting caused by water-borne illnesses.
Al-Jumaily, 32, spoke some English, but he also communicated with Buol’s men in Arabic through their interpreter, Basim Bahia. Bahia said he and his wife had their wedding at the resort the year it opened in 1979. They had 200 guests. Bahia remembers dancing in the discothèque.
“I swam with my wife in the lake. She was wearing her clothes, and I pushed her in the water. I was just making fun. She still remembers that,” said Bahia, 55, of Baghdad.
Bahia said his family and the rest of the other resort guests were forced to stay indoors for 48 hours when Udday showed for a visit with an entourage of 60 people.
“I felt disturbed. My wife told me, ‘Let’s go back home.’ I said no,” Bahia recalled.
As the U.S. soldiers patrolled nearby, Bahia stood outside the empty discothèque, dragging on a cigarette. He said he has happy memories of his wedding here. But he is sad about what has become of Tourist City.
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