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Berlin Pergamonmuseum home of Babylon’s gate and walls

I was not prepared for the fantastic treasures to be found in this museum built on the long island that nestles between the tributaries of the Spree river in what was old East German part of Berlin. The Pergamonmuseum is a Berlin ‘must see’. Get there early or be prepared to get in line with the other tourists. It is the Berlin Equivalent of London’s British Museum. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s archaeologists with the financial backing of rich Germans raided the ancient sites of the Middle east and brought their finds back to Berlin for everyone to see.

They have the front gates and entrance way of Babylon. YES BABYLON! Babylon is now a sand covered ruin in the desert. It once was a magnificent city just south of Bagdad in Iraq. The city’s exterior walls were with deep blue glazed rectangular tiles that were interwoven with floral and wild animal designs. The German Archaeologists found the shattered city and started to collect all the deep blue glazed tiles that had come away from the walls and the ones that still remained in position. Back in Berlin they constructed a template to the same scale of the Babylon walls inside the Pergamonmuseum and then started the task of sticking the tiles back into their original position. It must have been the biggest jigsaw puzzle in the world. The finished result is breath taking. It originates from the 6th Century BC. It is nearly 7,000 years old. You will see what the Ishtar gate of Babylon and the processional way really looked like all those years ago.

The Berlin Pergamonmuseum takes its name from another famous reconstruction, the 160BC Pergamon Alter. The Museum also houses three more interesting reconstructions. The German Archaeologists have rebuilt a beautiful section of the palace interior from the ancient Kingdom of Assyria dated from the 12th century BC 13,000 years ago. They have rebuilt the huge 120AD Roman market gate of the southern Roman market town of Miletus in Asia minor. The third reconstruction is on a much younger 1603AD magnificent panelled room from a merchants house in the Syrian city of Aleppo. There are too many other wonderful exhibits to mention. You must not miss this treat.

Berlin capital of Germany Ideal tourist city break vacation destination

Berlin capital of the new Germany, is an ideal tourist city break vacation destination. I was not looking forward to visiting Berlin. Apart from the Brandenberg Gate and Check Point Charlie I did not think there would be much to see. Boy was I wrong. I was shocked how attractive Berlin city is. The best parts were in the old East Berlin. Prior to the wall coming down a trip to West Berlin would have been very disappointing as most of the best bits were on the communist side. If you go to Berlin looking for the Berlin wall you are going to be very disappointed as nearly all sections of it have been demolished and erased from the landscape. There are lots of hotels, motels and guest houses to suit all pockets. Traveling to Berlin is very easy. The Airport has its own railway station and you can travel to the heart of Berlin with ease. Try a coffee and marzipan filled croissants, whilst you are waiting for the train.