For most of us in this age Iraq has had a dark and horrible past. Many of us may not have even heard of the Amna Suraka museum and what it represents. However, it still stands as one of the foremost museums in Iraq.
The place used to be a prison, and its name in Kurdish means red security, or red security house. During the reign of Saddam Hussein, thousands of Kurdish people were imprisoned and tortured here, with crimes ranging from political insubordination to just plain being Kurdish.
The museum is located in the former security complex in the city of Sulaymaniyeh, and has retained its former red color complete with bullet holes received during the war of liberation and uprising in 1991. The courtyard in the Red Security building is replete with machineries and equipment of death. It is full of tanks, mortars, artillery pieces of assorted shapes and sizes. This is a grim reminder of what Iraq was before.
Upon entrance into the building, the visitor will be greeted by the Hall of Mirrors, which contains 182,000 shards of glass, each glass shard representing one Kurdish life taken during the Anfal campaign under Saddam. The ceiling also contains 4,500 twinkling lights, each one representing a village that was destroyed under the rule of Saddam.
The room next to the Hall of Mirrors is a room that shows a replica of a typical Kurdish village and is passed when one enters the main building. Here in the main building visitors will feel a bit uneasy as this is where the torture chambers and prison cells are contained. One part in the area is recreated with gruesome statues and sculptures of Kurdish prisoners. Probably the most heart wrenching is a lifelike diorama of two children being tortured to extract information from them.
As one goes down to the basement, a photo gallery depicting a chemical attack on the town of Halabja is shown. This basement presentation is somewhat reminiscent of the Holocaust museum in Israel that not only has a historical effect, but a humanizing one as well. One will really feel the plight felt by the Kurdish nation under the rule of a former dictator that hated them.
Thus if you would be backpacking on the way through Kurdistan, this is one place that should be visited. It is one way to connect with the past of Iraq and what her people went through in the past twenty years.
The place used to be a prison, and its name in Kurdish means red security, or red security house. During the reign of Saddam Hussein, thousands of Kurdish people were imprisoned and tortured here, with crimes ranging from political insubordination to just plain being Kurdish.
The museum is located in the former security complex in the city of Sulaymaniyeh, and has retained its former red color complete with bullet holes received during the war of liberation and uprising in 1991. The courtyard in the Red Security building is replete with machineries and equipment of death. It is full of tanks, mortars, artillery pieces of assorted shapes and sizes. This is a grim reminder of what Iraq was before.
Upon entrance into the building, the visitor will be greeted by the Hall of Mirrors, which contains 182,000 shards of glass, each glass shard representing one Kurdish life taken during the Anfal campaign under Saddam. The ceiling also contains 4,500 twinkling lights, each one representing a village that was destroyed under the rule of Saddam.
The room next to the Hall of Mirrors is a room that shows a replica of a typical Kurdish village and is passed when one enters the main building. Here in the main building visitors will feel a bit uneasy as this is where the torture chambers and prison cells are contained. One part in the area is recreated with gruesome statues and sculptures of Kurdish prisoners. Probably the most heart wrenching is a lifelike diorama of two children being tortured to extract information from them.
As one goes down to the basement, a photo gallery depicting a chemical attack on the town of Halabja is shown. This basement presentation is somewhat reminiscent of the Holocaust museum in Israel that not only has a historical effect, but a humanizing one as well. One will really feel the plight felt by the Kurdish nation under the rule of a former dictator that hated them.
Thus if you would be backpacking on the way through Kurdistan, this is one place that should be visited. It is one way to connect with the past of Iraq and what her people went through in the past twenty years.
About the Author:
Read my intriguing story about the trip to Amna Suraka Iraq where I faced many challenges along the way. I have written about my backpacking Iraq to Saddam Hussein's house of horrors. Check out my posts right away by reviewing the website.
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