Eldridge Blog 1

Air Force House - Baghdad, Iraq

The story goes that Saddam built this house for one of his daughters after having her husband executed. It was his way of saying sorry but when your dad is a mass murderer these things happen; here, forget about him and have a house. Don't mind my face being on the front of it.

I have to admit, despite the cheap feeling of everything Saddam built, it was much nicer than what we were use to working out of. When you enter there are three rooms and a kitchen. To the right of the front door is a staircase that wraps around the exterior wall to the second floor. On that floor are four more rooms and then a much narrower staircase to the third floor. The third floor is one big open room with a view over a huge lake facing Al-Faw Palace (will cover in Blog 2). Through the center of the house is an elevator because three floors is difficult to climb when you come from a family of psychos who spend the entire day torturing people.

I was probably one of the few who found Iraq beautiful in a weird way, even in the desolate areas. This made the surrounding area even more impressive, huge lakes and palaces in the middle of nothing. Look at the view from the back porch.

Of course there are downsides. Sand covers everything and there are mice everywhere. Those things are minor compared to the jackasses who like to lob rockets at you every few days. Most of the natives I encountered were nice enough so one shouldn't judge an entire group of people on a few thousand individuals.


If the violence ever abates, it would be nice to visit Iraq again. I just hope the Iraqi people preserve these buildings, but with the current state of the nation I doubt it.

Picture Sources

https://www.flickr.com/photos/10648960@N05/sets/72157603471457696

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/2789571