Aw Faw Palace

---

Today was the first day of the conference. We got up early to get breakfast before the conference started. Breakfast was the usual fare - eggs and bacon. The conference was held in the Aw Faw palace on Camp Victory. I cannot talk about the conference but I can tell you about the palace.
The city of Faw lies on the Aw Faw peninsula in the far southeast of the Basra Provence. Water canals from the Shat Al-Arab River turned the land into an agriculturally rich region. Its oil facilities made it one of Iraq’s major oil exporting ports prior to the 1984 Iran-Traq war. Because of its strategic and geographic importance, it became a target for Iranian control. In February 1986 Iranian units captured the port of Aw Faw. Saddam Hussein vowed to eliminate and remove the enemy “at all cost” and in April of 1988 the Iraqi military succeeded in regaining control of the Aw Faw peninsula. The palace was build following the 1991 gulf war in honor of the soldiers who freed the city of Faw from Iranian control. All over the walls is written, “Victory and Glory to the warriors who freed the city from the enemy, the Persians.”
The palace is beautiful and is full of marble, glass, crystal, and gold. The Iraqis are very big on appearances so everything is big and bold. It is truly an amazing sight. The palace is mostly a facade - all of the marble is tile but is made to look solid. You can see the concrete as the marble is cracked and fallen off the walls. I was still impressed with the beauty.

---

Comments

[Ann Hogg]

Hi
Sounds like a very interesting time. I am sure there is much to see and I hope that you do that safely. Hope the conference is informative and that it is worth all the travel that you hate. Keep safe. Ann