By: BBC News

About 800 pages of the earliest surviving Christian Bible have been recovered and put on the internet.

Visitors to the website www.codexsinaiticus.org can now see images of more than half the 1,600-year-old Codex Sinaiticus manuscript.

Fragments of the 4th Century document – written in Greek on parchment leaves – have been worked on by institutions in the UK, Germany, Egypt and Russia.

Experts say it is “a window into the development of early Christianity”.

Preservation secrets

Dr Scot McKendrick, head of Western manuscripts at the British Library, said the wide availability of the document presented many research opportunities.

“The Codex Sinaiticus is one of the world’s greatest written treasures,” he said.

“This 1,600-year-old manuscript offers a window into the development of early Christianity and first-hand evidence of how the text of the Bible was transmitted from generation to generation.

“The availability of the virtual manuscript for study by scholars around the world creates opportunities for collaborative research that would not have been possible just a few years ago.”

The original version contained about 1,460 pages – each measuring 40cm by 35cm, he added.

The British Library is marking the online launch of the manuscript with an exhibition – which includes a range of historic items and artefacts linked to the document.

For 1,500 years, the Codex Sinaiticus lay undisturbed in a Sinai monastery until it was found in 1844 and split between Egypt, Russia, Germany and Britain.

It is thought to have survived because the desert air was ideal for preservation and because the monastery, on a Christian island in a Muslim sea, remained untouched, its walls unconquered.

The institutions’ painstaking work can now be seen at www.codexsinaiticus.org.

By: Seth Robson – Stars and Stripes

It may be hard for Westerners to believe, but one industry that’s booming, despite the global recession, is Iraqi tourism.

Provinces like Najaf and Karbala, off-limits to outsiders during Saddam Hussein’s long reign, are seeing massive influxes of visitors, mostly Shiite pilgrims from places like Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and even Canada.

According to the U.S. State Department, the number of visitors to Najaf, which along with neighboring Karbala is considered one of the holiest places in Shiite Islam, could range from 7 million to 10 million annually.

At Najaf International Airport, visitors in Western clothes or traditional Middle Eastern dress step off jets and onto air-conditioned buses for the short ride to the airport’s gleaming new terminal. Inside, people queue up to check baggage, pass immigration, change money or buy snacks and magazines while bus and taxi drivers mill about in the car park waiting to take visitors to their hotels.

Seven to 10 flights arrive each day at the airport, which opened last July, according to Kirk Benson, a former U.S. Air Force pilot. As a member of the U.S. State Department’s Najaf Provincial Reconstruction Team, Benson advises Iraqis running the $100 million facility.

The 59-year-old who flew refugees to safety in the Philippines when Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese and ran an airport in Tucson, Ariz., after he retired from the Air Force, said 14,730 passengers arrived at Najaf International Airport in May.

That number is set to leap next month when Iraq’s central government is expected to approve instrument landings at Najaf. The move will allow flights to land at night and in poor visibility — a constant problem in a place where dust storms often blot out the sun, grounding U.S. military helicopters.

“They expect, in the next few months, to see 1,500 to 3,000 people a day through the airport, and that will grow,” Benson said.

Iraqi tourists and business people are among the people coming in and out.

Iraq has international airports in Baghdad, Basra, Mosul and Irbil, but Najaf is the only one built since the U.S. invasion in 2003, said Benson.

The year-old airport was built on an old Iraqi air force emergency landing strip that shares a fence line with Forward Operating Base Endeavor, occupied by soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 172nd Infantry Brigade.

The terminal, still under construction, is already processing visitors through customs and immigration and handling baggage. It is scheduled to be fully operational, with duty-free shops and restaurants, next month. Nearby, work has started on a VIP terminal and air freight facility, he said.

On any reasonably clear day, aircraft from carriers such as Iraqi Airways, Cham Wings (Syria), Wings of Lebanon, Pakistan International Airlines and regional carriers like Jupiter and Skylink can be seen taking off and landing at Najaf.

Staff at the airport are a mixture of Iraqis and experts from overseas like ramp manager Phiradech Nasai, who worked at Suvarnabhumi Airport in his native Thailand before coming to Iraq.

“There is not bad situations here in Najaf,” he said.

Iraqi ticket agent Ahmed Jakel, who taught himself to speak English watching American movies, said he started work at the airport last year along with three sisters.

“I also have a tourism company in the city,” he said. “We bring groups and find hotels for them and offer transport. They come for a week to 10 days and we bring them back to the airport to fly out.”

Visitors from Iran spend $250 to $300 a week, he said, adding that he expects more business once the airport starts night operations.

“This airport will take business from Baghdad (International) Airport because it is a lot safer here,” he said. “People who visit Babylon and Karbala will come to this airport.”

The golden-dome of the Imam Ali Mosque, visible from many parts of the city, is a must-see for the Shiite tourists. The shrine, in the center of Najaf, is considered one of the landmarks of Islamic culture with its silver-covered tomb, ceramic ornamented walls and resplendent golden dome.

Nearby, the Wadi as-Salam (Wadi of Peace) is said to be the largest cemetery in the world. U.S. soldiers, who sometimes patrol a highway built through the cemetery by Saddam, are often amazed at the vastness of the graveyard, which has countless tombs decorated with colorful images of the departed.

In 2004, uprisings by firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s militia sparked fierce fighting in the Wadi al-Salam.

The cemetery contains the tombs of several Muslim prophets, including Ali. Many of the devout from other lands aspire to be buried here and to be raised from the dead with Ali on Judgment Day. An adage says that being laid to rest next to Ali for one day is better than 700 years worth of prayers.

There is a steady stream of bodies shipped through the airport en-route to the cemetery and there’s a thriving local funeral industry, Benson said.

By: Hillel Fendel – Arutz Sheva

Uri Lubrani, a former Israeli Ambassador to Iran and considered one of Israel’s top experts on Iran, says United States policies are leading inexorably to a tragedy.

Speaking with the Makor Rishon newspaper, Lubrani said, “Obama says he wants to reach an arrangement with the Iranians regarding a halt to the enrichment of uranium. In my best judgment, there is no chance of this happening. Iran of today is not the Iran of a month ago, before the riots, and the conditions in which the Americans had prepared for talks after the elections are no longer the same.”

“I fear that the Americans don’t know what to do,” Lubrani said, “but have don’t yet realize that they don’t know what to do. A tragedy is unfolding in front of our eyes. The tragedy is that the American administration actually will come to the conclusion, at the end, that negotiations have no chance – but they will reach this conclusion a year or two too late, and in the meanwhile, the nuclear clock is ticking.”

Obama to AP
Obama himself has noted that the situation in Iran has changed in recent weeks, but he has not mentioned any changes in his own policy. In response to a question from an Associated Press interviewer on Thursday, he said his is “not reconciled with [having to live with a nuclear-armed Iran], and I don’t think the international community is reconciled with that. Now, how we get from what we know is required for international security — which is a nuclear-free Iran — how we get from here to there is a big challenge. And it’s gotten more difficult in light of what’s happened post-election in Iran.”

Iran and Peres
During President Shimon Peres’s recent trip to Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, Iran recalled its ambassador to Azerbaijan in protest, and the leaders of Kazakhstan told Peres that they would not sell uranium to Iran.

* Obama: ‘Absolutely’ no green light for Israel to attack Iran US President Barack Obama on Tuesday strongly denied that the United States had given Israel an approval to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.

* Obama urges shift in Russia ties US President Barack Obama has urged Russia to turn from the past, emphasising the common goals the US shares with its former Cold War rival.

* Jerusalem Municipality ‘at war’ with Islamic summer camps Jerusalem Municipality has declared war on Palestinian summer camps popular among residents living in the eastern part of the city, which are mostly financed by Hamas and Fatah.

* Was a recently uncovered quarry used to build the Second Temple? Israeli archaeologists have uncovered an ancient quarry where they believe King Herod extracted stones for the construction of the Jewish Temple 2,000 years ago.

* Pope calls for a UN ‘with teeth’ The Pope has called for reform of the United Nations and financial bodies, giving them the “real teeth” needed to tackle economic and social injustice.

* EU top diplomat to step down in autumn EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana has said he will not seek a new term in office but will step down when the post expires in autumn after 10 years of representing the bloc abroad.

* EU scrambles for information on China violence The EU has for the past 48 hours kept mostly silent on the ethnic clashes in China, as diplomats struggle to pin down the facts.

* Global piracy: the hidden side While Somali pirates top headlines with brazen ship hijackings for ransom, many smaller-scale attacks in the world’s oceans — maritime muggings, essentially — go unreported.

* ‘Europe missile defense only for Iran’ “If the threat from Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile program is eliminated, the driving force for missile defense in Europe will be eliminated”.

* Secular Pilot Sings Settlers’ Praises Lt.-Col. (res.) Danny Baz, a secular Israel Air Force pilot from Herzliya, says the Jewish pioneers of Judea and Samaria are Israel’s strategic weapon.

* Obama in Moscow for nuclear talks US President Barack Obama is holding talks in Moscow with his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, focusing on further reducing nuclear stockpiles.

* IAF to train overseas for Iran strike op The IAF plans to participate in aerial exercises in the US and Europe in the coming months with the aim of training its pilots for long-range flights.

* Saudis give nod to Israeli raid on Iran The head of Mossad assured Netanyahu that Saudi Arabia would turn a blind eye to Israeli jets flying over the kingdom during any future raid on Iran’s nuclear sites.

* Tourism industry thriving in Iraq It may be hard for Westerners to believe, but one industry that’s booming, despite the global recession, is Iraqi tourism.

* PA Arabs: Jerusalem is No Home for Jews and Christians A poll released this week showed that PA Arabs are reluctant to grant rights to Jews or Christians within areas demanded for a PA state.

* Fayad: Jews welcome in our future state Jews would enjoy freedom and civil rights in a future Palestinian state, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad said.

* Iranian Expert: Obama Leading to Calamity Uri Lubrani, a former Israeli Ambassador to Iran and considered one of Israel’s top experts on Iran, says United States policies are leading inexorably to a tragedy.

* Historic Bible pages put online About 800 pages of the earliest surviving Christian Bible have been recovered and put on the internet.

* Iran’s response will be real, decisive Iran is ready to take “real and decisive” action if Israel attacks its nuclear facilities, a senior Iranian parliamentary official said.

* France lays down the law on Turkey’s EU progress France has warned Sweden to respect its views on Turkey’s EU membership negotiations during its EU presidency, saying it will tolerate the two sides moving closer only in certain areas.

* Israel sends sub through Suez Canal After a long hiatus, the Israeli Navy has returned to sailing through the Suez Canal.

* WHO warns swine flu ‘unstoppable’ The UN’s top health official has opened a forum in Mexico on combating swine flu by saying that the spread of the virus worldwide is now unstoppable.

* EU nations summon Iran envoys due to UK embassy arrests The European Union decided Friday to summon Iranian ambassadors across the 27-nation bloc in a joint protest against the detentions of staff at the British Embassy in Teheran.

* Africa leaders edge towards unity African Union (AU) members have agreed a plan to give its executive arm enhanced powers to co-ordinate common-interest policies.

* ‘Saudis block US push for normalization’ There are no guarantees the Arab world would move forward with steps of normalization toward Israel if Jerusalem declared a settlement freeze.

* Barroso stalemate threatens to distract EU from real problems With parliament looking increasingly likely to postpone a July vote on the nomination of the next commission president, there is a risk of having a lameduck executive.

* Jordan’s King Abdullah names teenage son as heir Jordan’s King Abdullah II named his eldest son as heir to the throne Thursday.

* Assad invites Obama to Damascus Syrian President Bashar Assad has invited his American counterpart Barack Obama to a summit in Damascus.

* Obama Prepares for Russia Summit, G8, Africa Visit U.S. President Barack Obama is preparing for another round of international travel.

* Vice President Biden discusses US future in Iraq Vice President Joe Biden discussed the future of the American mission in Iraq Friday with the top two U.S. officials there following the withdrawal of most troops from the cities.

* US opens ‘major Afghan offensive’ The US army says it has launched a major offensive against the Taliban in south Afghanistan’s Helmand province.

* Settlers hope PM won’t yield to US Settlers leaders on Wednesday promised to lobby against any concessions that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu might consider making to the Americans on the issue of settlement construction.

* North Korea ‘test fires missiles’ North Korea has test-fired four short-range missiles.

* Egypt wants S-400 to counter Iran In a sign of mounting concern about Teheran’s missile capability, the Egyptian military recently expressed interest in purchasing the Russian-made, advanced S-300 and S-400 air defense systems.

* Cleric: Muslims should visit Jerusalem A senior Palestinian Muslim cleric on Wednesday urged Muslims to travel to Jerusalem, breaking a taboo against visiting the holy city because it would be considered as normalizing relations with Israel.

* PA okays joint Dead Sea contest bid What does the IDF have to do with an Internet contest to choose the world’s seven natural wonders?

* Ant mega-colony takes over world A single mega-colony of ants has colonised much of the world, scientists have discovered.

* ‘Obama’ Think-Tank: Israel Should Cede Jerusalem Sovereignty A think tank which is arguably the most influential in Washington is proposing an “interim” neutral administration to govern Jerusalem instead of Israel.

* Iran says Europe no longer qualified to conduct nuclear talks Iran says Europe is no longer qualified to hold nuclear talks due to its meddling with the post-election protests in the country.

* John Bolton: Israeli Attack is Only ‘Iranian Option’ U.S. President Barack Obama’s policies have left an Israeli attack on Iran the only option in preventing the Muslim country from obtaining a nuclear weapo.

* African troops – ‘fig-leaf’ for Somalia? An African Union summit has opened in Libya amid calls for more African troops to be sent to deal with the crisis in Somalia.

* Israel attempts to stop S-300 air defense supplies to Iran Israel has intensified its efforts to prevent deliveries of Russian S-300 air defense systems to Iran under a 2007 contract.

* Institutional problems loom large for Swedish presidency Sweden takes over at the helm of the EU on Wednesday (1 July) for a six-month presidency.

* US slaps sanctions on Iran firm The US has imposed sanctions on an Iranian firm accused of helping North Korea with its nuclear program.

* Hamas: Fear of Jihad Led US Voters to Arab-Friendly Obama In a public address delivered on Al-Aqsa TV by Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, the Damascus-based terror boss informed Arab viewers that U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama came to power in the United States due to Islamic jihad in the Middle East.

* Paleontologists brought to tears, laughter by Creation Museum For a group of paleontologists, a tour of the Creation Museum seemed like a great tongue-in-cheek way to cap off a serious conference.

* Palestinian minister for Jerusalem affairs resigns Hatem Abdel-Qader, Palestinian Authority minister for Jerusalem affairs, resigned his post on Tuesday.

* Czech presidency limps off EU stage The Czech republic in the past six months helped to end a severe EU gas crisis and to ease Ireland’s Lisbon treaty problem.

* Iran leader cancels Africa visit Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has cancelled his trip to an African Union summit in Libya.

* Iraq stands firm, rejects foreign oil deals Iraq on Wednesday said it has rejected further offers from foreign companies to work in the country’s oil and gas sector.

By: Robert Maginnis – Human Events

Iran’s post presidential election protests are not evidence of a brewing revolution; rather they unmask a power struggle among the ayatollahs. The fracturing of the leadership has resulted in clear winners and losers internally and externally.

Iranian authorities declared Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the incumbent, the winner in the June 12th election with 63 percent of the votes. But Ahmadinejad’s opposition alleged election fraud which triggered sweeping protests followed by a bare knuckled government response and a tepid investigation.

Last week, Iranian authorities imposed order to “secure the rule of law” according to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The ayatollah unleashed the security forces — Basij militia and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) — to use whatever force necessary to squelch continuing popular dissent which had raged in Tehran since the election.

So far, the government’s crackdown has claimed at least 17 lives, eight members of the pro-government Basij militia, dozens more wounded and as many as 240 people jailed, including 102 political figures.

Mir Hussein Mousavi, the leading opposition candidate, asked Khamenei to investigate allegations of widespread election fraud. The “investigation” confirmed irregularities but authorities rejected calls for an election annulment. They insist the identified three-million fraudulent votes are not enough to overturn the landslide for Mr. Ahmadinejad.

All this is an ugly reminder of an oppressive regime, but so far the peoples’ response doesn’t constitute a revolution. By comparison the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran was the genuine article. It was a sudden and top-down populist, nationalist and Shia Islamic seizure of power that transformed Iran’s economic, social and political institutions. Shrill media reporting would have you believe it is happening again. However, Stratfor, a respected intelligence think tank, wrote, Tehran is “not St. Petersburg in 1917 or Bucharest in 1989 — it was [China’s] Tiananmen Square” in 1989 where mostly students and intellectuals protested against government authoritarianism and for economic and democratic reform.

For the election crisis to morph into a full blown revolution the protests would have to spread throughout the country, the economy would have to shut down and the military would have to turn on the leadership. None of these conditions materialized.

The protests petered out this week under an ever-intensifying crackdown and Mousavi bowed to pressure from the likes of Ayatollah Ahmed Khatami who threatened, “Anyone who takes up arms to fight with the people, they are worthy of execution. … [they are] at war with God” and should be “dealt with without mercy.”

For now the protesters have our sympathy and our support although greatly weakened by our reticent president. The oppressive government remains in power and is using the protests as an excuse to further distance Iran from the U.S.

The crisis produced winners and losers.

Iran’s security forces are winners, especially the IRGC. The government turned to the guards once Tehran’s streets filled with angry protesters. They responded with brutal tactics — clubs, gun fire and tear gas — to shutdown the protests and silence the media.

The 125,000 strong IRGC’s loyalty comes at a price, however. Since taking office in 2005, Ahmadinejad shifted the center of power from the clergy to the IRGC. The guards have steadily expanded their authority to include critical portfolios such as Iran’s missile program, its oil pipelines and other energy infrastructure and Iran’s atomic programs. Today, Iran’s power shift puts it much closer to a military dictatorship than the theocracy promised by the 1979 revolutionaries.

Ahmadinejad’s victory is also a win for the terrorist organizations on Israel’s borders who can count on continued Iranian funding and weapons. For many of the Arab states it appears to be a return to the status quo. While they have no love for the Persians and would like to see the radical, hegemonic, ballistic missile-armed leadership removed, at least the U.S. will not now be cementing a closer relationship with Tehran at Arab expense.

The “Twitter” reformers are winners because they exposed the oppressive regime and showed the world that some Iranians really want change. They used social networks like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook to undermine the ability of the authoritarian regime to control access to and distribution of information. For a short time their firsthand reports gripped the world with insights from Tehran’s bloodied streets.

President Obama is the biggest loser because he appears to be an inept leader and his plan to diplomatically defang Iran lies in shambles. A recent Washington Times article claims Obama sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader expressing interest in “cooperation in regional and bilateral relations” and a resolution to the Iranian nuclear issue. Then, almost two weeks after the election and the anti-protester violence, Obama condemned the regime.

On June 23, Obama belatedly condemned “… these unjust actions, and I join with the American people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost.” But he was careful not to reject the flawed election results because he feared America would become “a foil for those forces inside Iran who would love nothing better than to make this an argument about the United States.” That outcome was predictable and is exactly what transpired.

Ayatollah Khamenei addressed both Obama’s letter and the president’s stern remarks. The cleric asked, “Which one of these remarks are we supposed to believe?” Then he blamed America’s “agents” for the protests, vandalism, looting, sabotage and starting fires.

Ahmadinejad said Obama’s stance on Iran’s post election turmoil imperils relations. “They keep saying that they want to hold talks with Iran … but is this the correct way? Definitely, they have made a mistake,” Ahmadinejad said.

Iran’s clerics are big losers because they split over the election. Khamenei supported Ahmadinejad and endorsed the crackdown. Ali Akbar Hasheimi Rafsanjani, the former president who leads two influential councils, openly supported Mousavi’s candidacy. During the protests, Rafsanjani family members were detained apparently in an attempt to pressure the cleric to drop his support of Mousavi which was seen as a challenge to Khamenei.

Rafsanjani still remains on the sidelines of the crisis perhaps because he does not want to undermine the Islamic republic. However, Stratfor cites a Saudi media outlet that reports Rafsanjani may be setting up an alternative clerical establishment in defiance of Khamenei. This would seriously weaken the Islamic republic if true.

Mideast peace is a loser. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Tehran’s brutal actions “unmasked” the Iranian regime’s “true nature.” He emphasized that a government willing to shoot its own people could not be trusted. Expect Tehran to become more repressive at home and take more risks with its foreign policy.

The election crisis split the ayatollahs and demonstrated a real revolution is possible with the right kind of support. But for now Iran is more militaristic, the suppressed reformist movement is licking its wounds, the Mideast is less safe and President Obama’s plan to talk Ahmadinejad out of atomic weapons and terrorism is dead in the water.

By: Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes

HILLAH, Iraq — The remains of what was once the greatest city in the world occupy a vast site on the bank of the Euphrates River.

Their roots go back 3,800 years to when the city of Babylon was the heart of a Mesopotamian empire, and the remnants include great slabs of stone that are said to be the remains of King Nebuchadnezzar’s castle. A giant stone lion guards one end of the fortifications, but the most stunning remnants were removed by European archaeologists in the early 20th century.

Now soldiers with the 172nd Infantry Brigade are exploring the ruins as part of a U.S.-Iraqi effort to preserve the ancient city and plan for the return of Western tourists.

Members of the brigade’s 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment escorted a group of U.S. heritage tourism experts to the ruins last week for the first of several visits to develop a preservation and tourism plan for the area.

U.S. and coalition troops have been criticized in the past for damaging and contaminating artifacts. In a 2006 report, the head of the British Museum’s Near East department said that, among other things, military vehicles crushed a 2,600-year-old brick pavement, and sand and archeological fragments were used to fill military sandbags.

Now the rapidly improving security situation in surrounding Babil province has persuaded the U.S. State Department and the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage to embark on the preservation project, dubbed the Future of Babylon Project.

The State Department and the World Monuments Fund have committed $700,000 to the project, which will see U.S. and Iraqi experts develop a plan to preserve the site and develop a local tourism industry, said Diane Siebrandt, the U.S. embassy’s cultural heritage officer.

The Babylon project is one of several that the State Department is involved in to conserve ancient sites in partnership with the Iraqi government, she said.

Two people with expertise developing tourism plans for historic sites in third-world nations, Gina Haney and Jeff Allen, have been employed by the State Department to run the U.S. side of the project. They visited the ruins for the first time last weekend.

Haney said the pair will involve the local community in the plan’s development, as they did with a similar project encouraging Western tourists to visit Ghana’s Gold Coast.

“You could throw money at it and do all this work, but unless you can create a sustainable situation, your opportunities for tourism will run out,” Allen said. “The idea is to develop something that is going to be here 30 to 40 years from now and has benefits for the local people. We don’t want something that will only benefit outsiders.”

The Iraqi government will be involved in the planning as well.

“If you have 200,000 people a year coming to this site, you will have people staying at hotels, visiting restaurants, buying souvenirs,” Allen said. “The site is in some ways a revenue generator for the local community.”

Babylon could be comparable to the Egyptian pyramids, which draw millions of tourists each year. But the area lacks the tourist infrastructure that has been built at sites such as the pyramids, he said.

“There is nothing for tourists here, but if you interpret and present it in the right way, you can spark interest,” he said.

Allen, who has experience designing walkways and signs for other heritage sites, said detailed planning won’t happen until authorities have worked out how best to preserve the ruins. The crumbling rocks of the original city are surrounded by more elaborate and modern fortifications, including a maze-like collection of interior walls built on top of genuine ruins during Saddam Hussein’s time.

“Some of the past restoration work hasn’t been very good,” he said. “Saddam was trying to inherit the power of the ancients and continue that legacy. His restoration methods helped reinforce that vision of himself, and he created a pattern of restoration and repair work that benefited a certain agenda.”

One of the 172nd soldiers who visited the ruins, 1st Lt. Bryan Kelso, 24, of Jacksonville, Fla., walked in wonder near the ancient stones.

“It’s amazing to be surrounded by this history. To think that we are standing where Alexander the Great has been,” he said, referring to the great Macedonian conqueror who died in Babylon. “Babylon is one of the oldest and first civilizations known to man. They created the wheel and the first calendars. Everybody coming here gets a sense of what this place really is and how it all traces back.”