For those of you not familiar with the past Iraqi War or with Persian geography, you may not have heard of a couple of places that have played a part in its history. You may not have heard of Amna Suraka. This place is located in Iraq and is considered as one of the more impressive museums in Iraq. It has however, a fairly dark and horrible past.
Being a former prison, the museum houses not only memories but painful incidences in Iraqi history as well. It has been the location wherein thousands of Kurdish prisoners were punished and tortured just because they were Kurdish or for some form of political crime or another. Its name basically means Red Security House when translated from Kurdish to English.
The museum itself is located in Sulaymaniyeh within the old security compound for the security forces at the time. Colored red, it has extra decorations in the form of retained bullet holes from the 1991 uprising that was part of a wave that made Iraq free. The courtyard still has old tanks, artillery and other weapons of war as a grim reminder.
The first area that will greet one when entering the building will be the Hall of Mirrors. This hall contains 182,000 shards of glass comprising one enormous sort of installation art. Each shard represents one life taken from the Kurds under the rule of Saddam. On the ceiling of the same room are twinkling lights numbering 4,500, each light representing one village destroyed during the Anfal campaign.
As the visitor continues on further, he or she will find a replica of a Kurdish traditional village home in the next room. Further on, he or she will pass through several cells used for detention and torture in the olden days. One will definitely feel uneasy as some cells contain gruesome statues that depict what had occurred in them. One particularly disturbing one is one in which two children are tortured by guards for information.
Further on visitors and tourists go down into the basement showing a graphic photo gallery of a chemical attack on the town of Halabja. In essence this is one museum that is not only historical but humanizing as well. One can probably compare it to the likes of the Holocaust Museum in Israel for it does create the same impact and sympathy for a torture people.
Thus if you would be backpacking on the way through Kurdistan, this is one place that should be visited. It is one way to connect with the past of Iraq and what her people went through in the past twenty years.
Being a former prison, the museum houses not only memories but painful incidences in Iraqi history as well. It has been the location wherein thousands of Kurdish prisoners were punished and tortured just because they were Kurdish or for some form of political crime or another. Its name basically means Red Security House when translated from Kurdish to English.
The museum itself is located in Sulaymaniyeh within the old security compound for the security forces at the time. Colored red, it has extra decorations in the form of retained bullet holes from the 1991 uprising that was part of a wave that made Iraq free. The courtyard still has old tanks, artillery and other weapons of war as a grim reminder.
The first area that will greet one when entering the building will be the Hall of Mirrors. This hall contains 182,000 shards of glass comprising one enormous sort of installation art. Each shard represents one life taken from the Kurds under the rule of Saddam. On the ceiling of the same room are twinkling lights numbering 4,500, each light representing one village destroyed during the Anfal campaign.
As the visitor continues on further, he or she will find a replica of a Kurdish traditional village home in the next room. Further on, he or she will pass through several cells used for detention and torture in the olden days. One will definitely feel uneasy as some cells contain gruesome statues that depict what had occurred in them. One particularly disturbing one is one in which two children are tortured by guards for information.
Further on visitors and tourists go down into the basement showing a graphic photo gallery of a chemical attack on the town of Halabja. In essence this is one museum that is not only historical but humanizing as well. One can probably compare it to the likes of the Holocaust Museum in Israel for it does create the same impact and sympathy for a torture people.
Thus if you would be backpacking on the way through Kurdistan, this is one place that should be visited. It is one way to connect with the past of Iraq and what her people went through in the past twenty years.
About the Author:
Read my intriguing story about the experience at Amna Suraka Iraq where I faced many challenges along the way. I have written about my backpacking Iraq to Saddam Hussein's house of horrors. Check out my blog right away by reviewing the website.
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