Background:
A ziggurat is an enormous stone construction built in ancient Mesopotamia. The Ziggurat of Ur is a Sumerian temple built during the Early Bronze Age, about the 21st century BCE. The ruins were excavated in the 1920s and 1930s by the British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley. The Ziggurat of Ur is considered by scholars the best-preserved ziggurat in the world.
Side A:
Cornelis ‘Kees’ Hulsman and company arrived in Ur where the Pope is expected for a visit at the beginning of September. Hulsman is visiting the Ziggurat of Ur. The ziggurat boasts an impressive, steep staircase and towering 20 meter high walls etc. The ziggurat is located in the desert. Most of the ancient monuments are better preserved in the desert because of the dry climate. The Pharaonic monuments of Egypt are also a good example of this type of environmental preservation.
According to a local guide, the city of Ur is about 4800 years old. The guide said that Ur was the capital of Sumer for three dynasties. The first Sumerians lived in Ur 6000 years ago. The ziggurat was built during the time of the third dynasty around 2100 BCE. Next, the guide continued to explain why the Sumerian civilization was so important. He said that the Sumerians invented writing, and that they were the first in history to use irrigation. The Ziggurat of Ur was used by the Sumerians as a temple to worship the moon god. The Ziggurat of Ur contains three levels. The first is 62 meters and a half by 42. The second level is 36 by 26 meters. The third level is 20 by 11 meter. The Ziggurat was built by the Sumerian king Ur-Nammu. A key engineering feature of the Ziggurats was the use of bitumen by the ancient Sumerians to seal the brickwork together. There is also a palace in Ur built by the Sumerian king Shulgi. Behind the palace are the tombs of the kings Shulgi and Amar-Sin. Someone from the group asked if there are any inscriptions on the tombs. The guide said that there are inscriptions written in the Sumerian language
An American woman asked the guide about the importance of this site. The guide answered her by saying again the site is of historical significance because the Sumerian civilization invented writing. The guide illustrated his point by saying: as you can see now all our education is dependent on writing. However, Egyptians claim also that they invented writing.
The group entered the Ziggurat. The guide claimed that the first pieces of art in world were be found in Ur. The temple was restored in 1962 by Iraqi archaeologists which means that some parts look different, although the same kind of stones where used. You can see the difference in the use of bitumen: all the stones which are connected to each other by bitumen are original. The other stones are new. The Ziggurat used to be the center of the city, but there are only a few ruins left of the ancient city of Ur. The guide claims that they found the house of the patriarch Abraham in Ur, and that he lived there for 65 years. Ur was also an important city because of its location near two major water sources, the Euphrates and the Persian Gulf. However, in modern days, there are no longer any water sources close to Ur: the Euphrates is 15 kilometers away, and the Persian Gulf is 200 kilometers away.
The wheel was also invented by the Sumerians according to the guide. After this explanation, the guide showed an inscription, 5 by 5 centimeters in length, written in Sumerian cuneiform. The inscription was written on the staircase. He said that the inscription explains what the temple was used for, and which king built the temple. Hulsman asked the guide why this inscription was written in such an unusual place. The guide explained that the Sumerians wrote the same inscription in different places in the temple in case the temple got damaged.
In Hulsman’s opinion, the shape of the bricks used in the Ziggurat is very similar to the bricks used in the Netherlands to build houses. The only difference is that the Sumerians didn’t use any cement. They used bitumen instead.
Hulsman met another Dutch journalist from the ‘werld omroep’ in the Ziggurat. The Dutch journalist said that he is there because the Pope will be visiting Ur. The Dutch journalist is not happy with his guide; he and Hulsman and him are discussing the ziggurat.
The papal visit will be a lot of extra work because there is currently a no-fly zone above Iraq. That means that the Pope needs to have special permission from the United nations to fly above Iraq. Firstly, the Pope must obtain permission to fly to Baghdad, from here, he will need to get permission to fly to Ur. The Pope is 79 years of age, and it is thus not likely that he will travel overland. The press is present in Ur in preparation for the Pope’s visit. The group left the Ziggurat. The Ziggurat is, in Hulsman’s opinion more impressive if you stand in front of it.
After that, the group visited the house of Abraham. The house of Abraham is remarkable because it is simply a hole with stairs leading down. There is a dome on both sides with doors behind it. It must have been used for housing. The place is quite insecure, meaning that no tourists or pilgrims are visiting the place.
Hulsman asked a woman how it feels to be at the place were Abraham lived. The woman replied that she thinks that Abraham was a great survivor, because he was able to live in such a hot temperature. She also expressed her admiration that Abraham had managed to deliver his message to the whole world. The woman then asked Hulsman the same question. Hulsman replied that he thinks it is strange to be there, not only because it is so old, but also because it is so extremely remote.
Side B.
A man at Abraham’s house claimed that a scholar in the 19th Century by the name of Raymond Dosie found linguistic proof that Abraham lived there. The man explained that although there are many names for Abraham, all the names are coming from the same Semitic root. It is indeed proven that someone by the name of Abraham lived in the house at sometime in the past. However, Hulsman is not completely convinced that the actual Abraham has lived there. He said that it is plausible, but the evidence is not foolproof.
As the group walks through the house of Abraham, there is not much to see, according to Hulsman. Just some stones about two meters high. Abraham’s house was built with normal bricks. There is a path through the house made of soft clay, and people need to walk carefully, otherwise they will sink into the clay.
The trip to Ur is now finished, and Hulsman along with the rest of the group are on the bus en route back to Baghdad. The journey to Baghdad is approximately 400 km from Ur, and the trip will take around 5 hours. Hulsman says that the Iraqi landscape is extremely boring because it is just a vast empty space. Hundreds and hundreds of kilometers have the same view. There are almost no villages or cities, and the environment looks like a steppe. The land looks very dry, and every now and then you can see shepherds. The bus they are now traveling in was manufactured in Iran. This proves, according to Hulsman, that the embargo is not followed by every country. The condition of the road is acceptable, but it is not as good as the six-lane highway between Amman and Baghdad. Hulsman described the Iraqis he met as welcoming and friendly, but they don’t talk about their own domestic politics. He said that the impression he has of Saddam Hussein’s country is that Saddam makes sure that the people have enough food. There are no big projects now in Iraq, and the Iraqis are basically waiting for better economic times to arrive. The Iraqis don’t understand why they are still t punished so harshly with the no-fly zone and the embargo. After all, the war ended eight years ago.
