Shatt al Arab Hotel, Basra, IRAQ
Phin and Julie hitched a ride in a British Forces Merlin helicopter, from the Basra Airport to the Shatt al Arab Hotel, about 20 minutes across town.
They were met by Colonel Richard Stanford, who was kind enough to show them around.
What was once a jewel in the mid-east, is now a decaying war ravaged structure, home to Iraqi military who although western conveniences (like toilets) can be found throughout what is left of the hotel, they chose to defecate on the roof and in the halls of where they work, live, eat and sleep.
The hotel grounds, once landscaped and opulent, are now nothing but dried brush and sand. What was once a parking lot filled with Rolls Royce and Mercedes Benz, is now a repository to the hundreds of bullet ridden and often bombed out cars and trucks captured from terrorists. Also nearby is an area used to store live munitions captured from the terrorists throughout Basra.
