Can tourism be revived in ancient Iraqi city?
Iraqis living near the ancient city of Nuffar say the site should be developed to attract tourism after years of official neglect.
AL-DIWANIYAH, Iraq — The ancient city of Nuffar, just south of al-Diwaniyah City near Baghdad, dates back to 2500 B.C. Nuffar (or Nippur) was a holy city to the ancient Iraqis of the Sumerian and Babylonian civilizations.
Yet the city is not holy to Abbas al-Yassiri, 70, who resides in a village in the Afak district near the ancient city. He told Al-Monitor what's left of Nuffar is “mere ruins of a city that was punished by God for the rampant corruption there.”
