As Bombs Fall Silent, an Iraqi City Rebuilds

by Babel-Fish | October 3, 2008 at 02:45 am

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Today is better than yesterday! it would seem that things are settling down that the Iraq security troops are able to keep order. I really think now is the best time for USA to hand back Iraq to whom it belongs to. But of course everything is geared to the five new US bases being completed. 6 or 7 months and building delays away to the start of the handover. (tongue in cheek)....

SAMARRA, Iraq — Bombs go off infrequently now in Samarra, and they are mostly small, nothing like the massive explosion that two years ago toppled the golden dome of the famous Askariya Shrine in this ancient city, setting off a wave of sectarian bloodletting across Iraq.
The Askariya Shrine in Samarra was bombed in 2006. The shrine and its golden dome are now being reconstructed.
A bakery and a shawarma shop recently opened in a heavily guarded central neighborhood. Earlier this week, dozens of children rode a creaky Ferris wheel and took wagon rides on a downtown street to celebrate Id al-Fitr, the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.

The Askariya Shrine is slowly being rebuilt. This week, for the first time in two years, hundreds of worshipers attended morning prayers for Id al-Fitr under the delicately blue-tiled dome of the mosque next door.

“It is better now,” many residents say if asked. “Today is better than yesterday.”