One hour south of Baghdad, in the ancient city of Babylon, is a copy of the fabled Bab Ishtar Babylon - Door of Babylon. In its glory, Babylon was surrounded by thick masonry walls. Built in 604 to 562 B.C., the tall Isthar Gate, named after a Babylonian god, was ornamented with glazed brick relief images of dragons and young bulls surrounded by blue enameled tiles. The Ishtar Gate we see here is an full-scale reproduction, constructed about fifty years ago as a museum entrance.
A smaller reconstruction of the Ishtar Gateway, made from excavated bricks, is housed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.
