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.)
