French tour group breathes new life into Iraq’s rich past
TELLO — Staring out at the ancient Sumerian city of Girsu with the sun beating down in the midst of the Iraqi desert, Philippe Cousin breathlessly exclaims, “It’s extraordinary.” The retired French engineer’s family, even his country’s foreign ministry, urged him not to make the trip for security reasons but, he says, “I just had to see this with my own eyes.” Cousin is travelling with 18 others as part of the first French tour group to visit Iraq since 2003. On the itinerary are the ancient cities of Ur, Babylon and Uruk, sites regarded as the birthplace of civilisation that few foreigners have seen since the US-led invasion of that year. “This really stirs up the emotions,” murmurs Cousin as Catherine Sudre, one of the group’s four guides, recalls Girsu’s history, and details of Sumerian gods and goddesses and various legends that have influenced biblical stories such as those of the Great Flood and of Cain and Abel. “Everyone would love to see these sights, but they are afraid, they say it is impossible to visit such a country,” the tall white-haired 65-year-old says. “We know that we are pioneers, but other people probably think we are crazy.” Ur, the biblical birthplace of Abraham, “is extraordinary, it’s amazing, it’s moving,” says Christiane Leroy Prost, a 65-year-old academic. Source: The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100615com6.html |
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