UNESCO said, on Saturday, that Iraq sits proudly in our collective history.
The organization stated through its official account on "Twitter": "The land of #Iraq sits proudly in our collective history. The Mesopotamian city of Ur was a major religious, political & urban centre, and saw the origin of writing and monumental architecture.."
Iraqi musician Naseer Shamma said: "The visit of His Holiness the Pope to Iraq, for the first time in the history of the Vatican, will enhance tolerance, brotherhood, social justice, and the return of Iraqi Christians to their homeland. The visit will restore Iraqi lives and draw the world's attention to the suffering of our people as a result of terrorism. The visit will open the door to help Iraq in its reconstruction, and we in turn started with an initiative." We announced it yesterday regarding the globalization of the city of Ur to become a space for dialogue, tolerance and culture. We will launch an international festival every year on March 6, which is the date for the visit of His Holiness Pope Francis. "
Iraqi palm Cultural Organisation calls on the government to transform the city of Ur into a capital for religious tourism and a center for dialogue of civilizations. The UNESCO ambassador for peace, world renowned Naseer Shamma, declared his absolute support for the initiative "Ur ... the capital of civilizations and the meeting of religions" launched by the Iraqi Palm Cultural Organization, coinciding with the Pope's visit to the historic city of Ur. Shamma said in a statement published on the Iraqi Nakheel platform: - "I stand firmly with this initiative and we work together to make it happen." This came after the Iraqi Nakheel Cultural Organization demanded the Iraqi government and the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities to invest the historical visit of the Great Pope of the Vatican to the ancient city of Ur in the south. Iraq to restore life to it and turn it into a religious and tourist destination by reviving the city and rehabilitating its tourist and service facilities as soon as possible.
Iraqi Palm said in a statement: - The Pope’s visit opened new horizons for our beloved homeland and ensured the world’s eyes turn to him in a different view. It also wiped away from his image all the distortion produced in the last period to restore his civilized, spiritual and cultural image, so we must as cultural organizations raise our voices loudly to pressure the concerned authorities in the state to invest in this opportunity and not to miss or waste it just as we have squandered dozens of opportunities. The Iraqi Palm Organization also called for the transformation of the historic city of Ur into an incubator for cultures, religions and peaceful coexistence by opening the largest center for dialogue of civilizations and religions in the world. The organization expressed its readiness to present an integrated plan for the success of this important project. The organization also launched the hashtag #أورعاصمةالحضارةوملتقىالاديان, in reference to the name of the initiative that an Iraqi palm will work to market and persuade the concerned authorities to implement it. In a related context, UNESCO Secretary General Audrey Azoulay stated through here official twitter handle:
This tweet came at a time when Pope Francis was holding a unified prayer expressing all religions in Ur, the cradle of religions and civilizations which he visited this morning, Saturday 6 March 2021, as part of his historic tour in Iraq. It is known that Ur is the archaeological site of a Sumerian city located in Tal al-Muqeer, southern Iraq. It was the capital of the Sumerian state in 2100 BC. It was an oval-shaped city located on the mouth of the Euphrates River in the Arabian Gulf near Eridu, but it is currently located in a remote area far from the river due to the change in the course of the Euphrates River over the past thousands of years, and it is currently located a few kilometers from the city of Nasiriyah, in southern Iraq, about 100 miles north of Basra. It is considered one of the oldest known civilizations in world history. The Prophet Abraham, the father of the Prophets, was born in it in 2000 BC, and the city is famous for its ziggurat building, which is a temple of the gods Iniana, (the goddess of the moon), according to Sumerian mythology. It contained 16 royal tombs constructed of mud and bricks and in every grave there was a well. When the king died, he buried his maidservants with their clothes and jewelery after killing them with poison upon his death, and the cemetery had a structure topped by a dome.
Sources: Iraqi Palm News Agency - Al Somariya News - shammamusic.com
