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    'It Was Like Magic': Iraqis Visit Babylon And Other Heritage Sites For 1st Time

    Domestic tourism has been strong in Iraq's northern Kurdish region, but sites in more impoverished, insecure areas tend to be visited less. A few Iraqi tourism companies are trying to change that.
    by Alice Fordham Feb 23, 2021 5 minutes
    Visitors with the Bil Weekend tourism company take photographs inside the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon, in the area around the Ishtar gate. The animal on the walls ins a dragon-like creature associated with the Babylonian god Marduk.

    BABYLON, Iraq — On a mild winter weekend, the sun pours down on the yellow archways of the reconstructed palace of King Nebuchadnezzar II at the site of the ancient city of Babylon. Nearly three millennia after Nebuchadnezzar's reign, visitors from a tour group cluster to admire a brick frieze depicting strange creatures that look like lions with eagle claws.

    Snapping photographs, they pass under arches, through hallways and across vast courtyards, imagining the regal ceremonies, worship and gossip of the past.

    "It's great!" says Furqan Fouad, a 21-year-old Iraqi visitor. "It's my first time coming here and I'm very interested in history because I'm a novelist."

    She's carrying a copy of her novel, whose cover is purple like her sweater and hairband. "It's a

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