RE: In a Tour for Visitors, Baghdad’s Past Is Present
To the Editor:
The six day conference on the preservation of Iraqi centers included visitors from United States, France, Iran, Italy, Japan and elsewhere and after hearing speeches they were given a tour of historic areas that had not been seen in decades, not even by Israelis. Many of the visitors were in the architecture businesses and were shown some of the historic, and architecturally defining areas in the city. Many of them talked about how sad it felt, and how quiet. I felt the same in Belfast, Ireland when I went to go visit. In places of destruction and pain there lies a sense of sadness and visitors can definitely feel it. With our latest talks on the Palestinian and Israeli conflicts it was interesting to read this article as I feel it is leading us into a new age. Dare I say, of peace? Unfortunately the visitors were heavily escorted, towns were closed, and people were kept away. But I still feel its a step in the right direction.
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Erin, I hope its a direction into peace. I have too heard that buildings with destructive pasts still have sadness. My mom can remember when she went to the concentration camps in Germany, more than twenty years after the holocaust, and it still felt sad.
ReplyDeleteI think places and people definitely leave emotional scars. Its one of the true wonders of the world! Being able to feel history through a sense instead of knowledge.
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