His ostentatious palace, some 60 miles from Baghdad and overlooking the ancient city of Babylon is now being transformed into a luxury hotel and officials are hoping it will become a beacon of tourism.

So far so good, as around 1,000 locals a day pay a small fee to picnic in his garden and eat from his forbidden date tree that he walled in with concrete. It might not be the most fortuitous start to a marriage but at least it will give you something to talk about when the blissful honeymoon period is over.

Take a look of the surrounding area and the palace itself here www.aol.photogallery/saddam-hussein-palace-

Miyo Wada

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see Miyo's blog at miyowadawants.blogspot.com

Photo Credit: lesather