Project to develop ancient city of Ur is in progress

The ziggurat at Ur was a temple to the moon god Nannar, and has been dated to the second millennium BC (Reuters)

The General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers announced on Friday, that the government intend to allocate an amount of 10 billion dinars for the development works of the ancient city of Ur.
 
The spokesman for the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, Haider Majid, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): "The committee concerned with the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers headed by the Secretary-General Hamid Al-Ghazi continues its meetings in order to develop the ancient city of Ur," noting that "the last meeting directed the allocation of 10 billion dinars from Dhi Qar Governorate fund for the purpose of directing the construction of the infrastructure of the tourist city adjacent to the ancient city of Ur. "
 
Majid confirmed that "All measures have been taken to develop the ancient city of Ur, as a contract was made with a local company," stressing that "the company has begun work on the construction of the infrastructure for the tourist city in preparation for the rest of the work within the development project."

Ancient Iraqi city of Ur – located in Dhi Qar province, 300km (200 miles) south of the capital Baghdad.

More than 6,000 years ago, Ur emerged as one of the world’s first main urban centres and centuries later developed into the hub of the then global economy with its factories mass-producing carpets and wool clothing for export within Mesopotamia and abroad.

Ur – also called Tal al-Muqayer – has been considered one of the most important archaeological sites throughout history.

In July 2016, UNESCO placed Ur on the World Heritage list, in addition to the marshes of southern Iraq, and other sites such as Eridu and Al-Warka.



PUKmedia/INA