HILLA: Showcasing traditional dance, music and arts, Iraq’s Babylon International Festival has attracted thousands of fans for the first time in two war-scarred decades.

“It’s a great joy. We haven’t seen a festival like this for years,” said Shaima, 45, visiting the event at the ancient archeological site with her two daughters.

The last edition of the festival was held in 2002, the year before the US-led invasion that toppled the veteran dictator Saddam Hussein.

In the years after, Iraq saw war between US troops and insurgents, sectarian clashes and the battle against the militant Islamic State group. Tens of thousands died and much of the country and its rich cultural heritage were reduced to rubble.

Today there is relative stability, though marred by periodic IS attacks and political tensions, and Iraqis are looking to the future. The five-day festival, which ended Monday, is one of the symbols of this new hope.

The arts showcase, staged in what was the capital of the ancient Mesopotamian state of Babylonia, this year drew artists from dozens of countries including Jordan, Serbia and Russia as well as homegrown talent.

“It’s a fundamental change compared with the terrible ordeals that we suffered,” Shaima said.

The festival, first launched in 1987, was staged at the majestic Unesco World Heritage site of Babylon, south of Baghdad.

Most performances were held in the Babylon theatre which Alexander the Great built around 311 BC. Because history, both ancient and modern, is never far away in Iraq, one of the palaces Saddam built still stands just a few hundred metres (yards) from the Babylonian ruins.

In the shadow of a replica of Ishtar Gate, built originally by Nebuchadnezzar II around 575 BC, Iraqi photographer Haider al-Masalmawi was showing his work to visitors.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2021