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CNN Live Sunday
A River Runs Through It
Aired May 18, 2003 - 18:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Running through the center of Baghdad, the Tigris River has borne witness to thousands of years of battles and invasions and, as often has happened in the past, the recent invasion by coalition forces is sending many people to the banks of the Tigris to reflect upon what is happening in their homeland. Karl Penhaul reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sitting quietly with rod in hand, Ahmed Yasim (ph) has not come to fish but to search. Amid the chaos of post-war Baghdad, his honey selling business is on hold. So, each day he says he comes to stare deep into the River Tigris and find a little tranquility.
"The Tigris was there since the beginning of time. It's eternal."
The land between the Tigris and its sister river the Euphrates is known as the Cradle of Civilization, home to the biblical Garden of Eden, great wars fought and lost along the banks of the Tigris, great civilizations flourished and floundered.
Ordinary Iraqis complain things have been bad in Baghdad since the coalition occupation, surging crime, basic utilities still intermittent. But on the East Bank, the 13th century (unintelligible) school stands witness to when times were a lot worse. Fifteen years after it was finished, Mongol hoards ransacked Baghdad destroying buildings, massacring its inhabitants.
GHAZI HUSSEIN, SCHOOL CURATOR: There is difference between the time of Mongol and America now. There is a civilization I think -- I'm thinking and not the same.
PENHAUL: When the Mongols left, the school went on to become a center of Arab learning for astronomy, philosophy, and (unintelligible). Like the Mongols, Ghazi hopes the U.S. Army will not stay too long.
On the Tigris' West Bank, a shrine to holy man (unintelligible). Legend tells he rode into the river on a horse at this spot never to be seen again. Traditionally single women would smear henna on the walls and make a wish to find a good husband. In the post-war uncertainty, Kafaya Felis (ph) priorities may be different.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I wish that we could live in comfort with stability and security.
PENHAUL: But women young and old still believe the banks of the Tigris is where their wishes can come true.
(on camera): For years this bridge was journey's end for all river cruises through Baghdad. Beyond lay the forbidden palaces of Saddam Hussein.
(voice-over): But as Baghdad knows, regimes come and go. Residents say only the Tigris runs eternal.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 18, 2003 - 18:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Running through the center of Baghdad, the Tigris River has borne witness to thousands of years of battles and invasions and, as often has happened in the past, the recent invasion by coalition forces is sending many people to the banks of the Tigris to reflect upon what is happening in their homeland. Karl Penhaul reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sitting quietly with rod in hand, Ahmed Yasim (ph) has not come to fish but to search. Amid the chaos of post-war Baghdad, his honey selling business is on hold. So, each day he says he comes to stare deep into the River Tigris and find a little tranquility.
"The Tigris was there since the beginning of time. It's eternal."
The land between the Tigris and its sister river the Euphrates is known as the Cradle of Civilization, home to the biblical Garden of Eden, great wars fought and lost along the banks of the Tigris, great civilizations flourished and floundered.
Ordinary Iraqis complain things have been bad in Baghdad since the coalition occupation, surging crime, basic utilities still intermittent. But on the East Bank, the 13th century (unintelligible) school stands witness to when times were a lot worse. Fifteen years after it was finished, Mongol hoards ransacked Baghdad destroying buildings, massacring its inhabitants.
GHAZI HUSSEIN, SCHOOL CURATOR: There is difference between the time of Mongol and America now. There is a civilization I think -- I'm thinking and not the same.
PENHAUL: When the Mongols left, the school went on to become a center of Arab learning for astronomy, philosophy, and (unintelligible). Like the Mongols, Ghazi hopes the U.S. Army will not stay too long.
On the Tigris' West Bank, a shrine to holy man (unintelligible). Legend tells he rode into the river on a horse at this spot never to be seen again. Traditionally single women would smear henna on the walls and make a wish to find a good husband. In the post-war uncertainty, Kafaya Felis (ph) priorities may be different.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I wish that we could live in comfort with stability and security.
PENHAUL: But women young and old still believe the banks of the Tigris is where their wishes can come true.
(on camera): For years this bridge was journey's end for all river cruises through Baghdad. Beyond lay the forbidden palaces of Saddam Hussein.
(voice-over): But as Baghdad knows, regimes come and go. Residents say only the Tigris runs eternal.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
