Basra Museum struggles to keep Iraq's heritage at home

The Basra Museum displays around 2,200 objects from the Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian and Hellenistic eras — 100 of which were reportedly looted and returned to Iraq from Jordan and the United States.
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People look at the exhibits at the Basra Museum, Basra, Iraq, seen in a picture uploaded March 22, 2019. - Facebook/FOBasrahMuseum
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Lizzie Porter
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Under a pink and turquoise ceiling and wooden panels with Arabic calligraphy carvings, galleries filled with objects dating back millennia are bringing new life to what was once Saddam Hussein’s residence in Basra. 

The former dictator’s palace, overlooking the Shatt al-Arab River, now houses the Basra Museum. 

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