One of Saddam Hussein’s former palaces is due to reopen this month as a museum. The Basrah Museum, in southern Iraq, has been planned since 2008, when British troops began to pull out of the country. The institution, overseen by the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, was launched with the help of the British Army and the British Museum. The first gallery, to be unveiled on 27 September, is dedicated to the history of the Basra region from around 300BC to the 19th century. Other rooms will follow as more funding becomes available. The renovation of the 1990 palace, which cost just under £500,000, was funded by the London-based Friends of the Basrah Museum and the oil company BP. Objects on show are from local sources and the stores of the Baghdad Museum.
