Public returns to restored national museum after disruptions of unrest and Covid 19 fade in Baghdad

Staff at The Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad welcome the return of the local public and international visitors. The museum’s organizers told A24 they are delighted with the influx of visitors from Iraq and abroad, noting the museum still retains many artifacts that testify to the ancient civilization of Iraq. Visitors to the museum enjoy seeing displayed ancient artifacts that testify to Iraq’s history of thousands of years of civilizations. Jumana al-Samarrai, tour guide for the museum, told A24 the museum contains two million artifacts, all of which hold great significance and value. The founders opened the Iraqi National Museum in 1923 two years after the country won independence from Britain. The facility boasts more than 20 wings covering the country’s history from 4800 BCE onwards. It was closed during the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 after thousands of antiquities were looted and smuggled abroad. Officials reopened this treasure trove of Mesopotamian civilizations in 2015, proud to have restored many damaged antiquities. However, the global Coronavirus pandemic forced them to shut down again in 2019, with visitors beginning to trickle in since they lifted restrictions in March this year.