Pictures of the Lake

In the center of this base is a massive lake, built by Saddam Hussein at the height of his arrogant self-worshiping architectural effusion. It's surrounded by various buildings - homes and recreation facilities for Ba'ath Party officials.


They're all in use to this day - by us - and even lower-level staff folks who work in cubicles...work in cubicles with marble floors.

At the heart of the lake, of course, is the Al Faw Palace (see my earlier post): Here's a picture from the back:





Here are a few pictures of the lake:


A small causeway behind the palace leads to a small island, which was likely the dockhouse for Iraq's most rich and evil.



Not sure what this was, but I thought it looked cool. There are helicopters flying around this place all the time. Someday, I'll donate a whole post to my best helicopter photos.


I have strong suspicions that the lost gold of Iraq is sunk in here somewhere. Or maybe some WMDs. From what I've heard, there are also supposedly some bodies in here - probably folks who displeased Saddam, and were invited to take a recreational swim with concrete flippers.


At this intersection, it is recommended that you follow the stop sign. Those pretty rails don't really do the trick by themselves.


Surprise, surprise. Another helicopter!


The road in places is just a causeway between the lake and canals or ponds, like this one, near Saddam's personal mosque.

If you think this is cool, in a couple of weeks, I'll introduce you to some of the lake's inhabitants.