ur was probably one of the first cities in the history of mankind and you could also think it was the cradle of civilisation. well, a lot has gone wrong environmentally since then, as you can see from the roadsides in iraq. We were strongly warned by the German embassy (in Athens) not to drive through Iraq, but the people are super friendly and are really happy about tourists coming back to the country after all the suffering, war and terror that the population has had to endure over the last 40 years. The visitors are the hope for a normalisation of the situation and a return to peace.
The ancient site ur is secured with solid mesh and barbed wire, and a guide said this is because it is now a unesco world heritage site. The reconstructed ziggurat has origins that probably date back to the 5th century BC. The current form was dedicated to the moon-god “nanna” and was probably built over 4000 years ago by king ur-nammu and his son, or rather the two rulers commissioned its construction. The stepped temple has a base length of 62.5m x 43m and was probably 25 metres high.
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