It didnt look like much to me.
I was warned that this place was bad news. That it had been made into a temple for the deceased dictator and that we really shouldnt hang out there for long.
I told them I wanted to go anyway.
(Sorry about the picture quality but I had to shoot it from a speeding Humvee window.)
You can see for yourself, the tomb of Saddam Hussein and the shrine (if you can call it that) thats devoted to him aint much. I mean, check out the trash pile in the dirt to the right. And I expected Lenins tomb-esque lines of devoted followers lining the sidewalk to pay tribute to the dear leader. But no one was there.
Not even a guard to keep vengeful victims of his rule at bay.
The town of Owja, where Saddam was born and raised, is still a nettlesome mix of disgruntled Sunnis, Baathists and Hussein kin. Its a dangerous place, these Soldiers told me. But judging from the lack of devotion to his final resting place, hes not the local celebrity he once was.
(That’s a picture of the wall leading up to Saddam’s tomb…If anyone can read Arabic I’d like to know what it says. Or maybe a new caption contest?)
– Christian
(Cross-posted at my “From the Front” blog.)
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
It says:
“Here lies our bastard dicator named Saddam
He’s fried, he’s dead, or run off to his mom”
“Well… here’s some we saw coming a mile away; Ever since he tried to build that big cannon.”
“Billboards work. You’re reading this now, aren’t you? Call Hamid to rent this space at (phone # removed for privacy).”
“Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Weapons Storage Facility”
I may be wrong here, but they look like YouTube addresses…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q5oRisXink
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leacw8H8Lrk
“Durka durka durka…..muhammud, jihad,
durka durka durka!!!!”
My arabic is a litle rusty, I think it either says:
“I am Saddam Hussein, and I wish to negotiate”
or:
“I am Saddam Hussein, no relation to Barak Hussein Obama”
I believe it says:
“Coming Soon! Condominiums from the $500′s!”
That is quite something – it says a lot about his continuing power that it’s still standing. Obviously the authorities are not confident enough to raze it or change it to something else.
.
The weird thing is I don’t even know if the Ba’athists are still much of a force – anyone else know?
“If you lived here, you’d be home now!”
I think you’ll find it reads:
“look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair”
(c) MC Shelley, 1818