(eerie music) - This is literally one
of the creepiest places I've ever been.
I'm like looking over my shoulder
because I'm waiting for like a dead body
to fall on me or something.
- Saddam used to sit on this huge golden throne.
- Exactly.
That's where he used to hang out and talk to his family
and friends and loved ones.
(man speaking in foreign language)
It's like Nazi (beep).
It's like Hitler (beep).
Shukran.
What's up, everyone?
My name is Drew Binsky.
Today, I am in Babylon in the central part of Iraq,
and I am exploring Saddam Hussein's former palace.
It is mind blowing.
I spent the last hour and a half here,
and I'm gonna take you guys all around this abandoned place,
which was once a beautiful palace, not too long ago.
(dramatic music)
- [Drew Voiceover] After a few days of exploring Baghdad,
which was nothing short of spectacular,
the real Iraqi adventure has just begun.
Our trip continued southbound to Babylon,
a place I first heard about
in my elementary school classroom.
Turns out it's one
of the most spectacular places I've ever visited
on planet earth.
Babylonian history that dates back to the 19th century BC.
And, at one point, it was the largest city in the world
with 200,000 residents.
Today, only ruins remain,
but they carry on many stories of the Bible,
the world's first known civil code,
and the death place of Alexander the Great.
But I'm saving the rest of Babylon
for next Sunday's video,
where I wander deep into the ancient walls and ruins.
The story you're gonna hear about right now
takes a little bit of a left turn
and is probably as creepy as any story I've ever told you.
- About to head inside of Saddam Hussein's former palace,
which is now a big, empty building, but a new building,
because it was only built a couple decades ago.
Wow.
So I'd be lying to you if I didn't say it
was a little bit scary
walking around this palace
because there's dark rooms everywhere.
I feel like a body is gonna be hanging somewhere
or someone's gonna jump out at you or something.
I have that instinct that I'm ready to run.
- [Drew Voiceover] For those who aren't aware,
Saddam Hussein served as president of Iraq
from 1979 until 2003.
His rule was a repressive dictatorship
and was marked by costly and unsuccessful wars
against neighboring countries,
as well as genocides against minority groups,
like the Kurdish.
The total number of Iraqis killed during Saddam's regime
is estimated at over a quarter million.
And rightfully so,
he was publicly executed in 2006,
after being convicted of crimes against humanity
by the Iraqi court.
In other words,
the same people who elected him into power are the ones
that killed him.
Throughout his years in power,
Saddam was notorious for building massive palaces
across Iraq as a sign of dominance
and as a way to leave his legacy.
One of those palaces overlooked the ancient ruins
of Babylon and we literally discovered it
as we drove into the region.
- It's really, really grand.
This place is amazing, majestic.
Now all vandalized, of course,
because after Saddam's fall and death,
people just took everything of value
and just vandalized the place,
painting on the walls, broke the windows.
- [Drew] But you can feel how big it once was.
- Super majestic. - What, just 30 years ago?
40 years ago? - Yeah.
- This place is just totally abandoned.
There's nothing here anymore,
but you can feel how it was once amazing.
Look at these little pipes here.
For anybody who loves to explore places,
this is like a playground.
Look at the outlet converters here.
My God.
Everything is just complete dusted, old.
God, already lost in here.
- [Drew Voiceover] I was told by locals
that Saddam Hussein spent tens of millions of dollars
building this giant, and I mean giant,
complex that sits on top of an artificially-made hill
with the best views of Babylon.
- Wow, look at this.
This project was not only nationalistic,
but also narcissistic,
as you can see by the many faces of him at the entrance.
In essence, Saddam tried to rebuild Babylon
and he wanted every Iraqi to know it.
- This is crazy.
Wow.
- [Drew Voiceover] But now,
18 years after Saddam's fall from power,
his palace has become totally abandoned.
All the rooms are still intact,
but broken glass and graffiti are found all over the place.
The fact that we were the only ones there made it terrifying
to experience and I honestly couldn't believe my eyes.
- [Drew] There's a crazy amount of barbed wire.
I'm not going in there.
Have fun.
Why do you think that's the way to get upstairs?
- 'Cause he told me you have to go under a fence.
- [Drew] Oh.
- Careful, it's full of barbed wire, nails and (beep).
- So sketchy, man.
- So much barbed wire and just
like hanging nails everywhere.
All full of nails.
You have to be really careful where you step.
And obviously, this place,
I imagine is full of rats 'cause
all this darkness and filth.
(suspenseful music)
- [Drew] What is it? - Hidden chamber.
- [Drew] Hidden chamber?
Whoa, man.
- Dude. - Wow.
- [Brunette Man] A hidden chamber in Saddam's palace.
- We're literally in a tiny hidden chamber
walking on water bottles.
(water bottles crunching)
This place just screams danger, all over the walls.
So bizarre.
We're going up again.
- [Brunette Man] Should we go to the darkness.
Check out the rooms there? - Yeah, let's go.
Pitch black.
Do you wanna go in? - Sure.
- It's probably just like a wardrobe or something.
Trying to get on the top, on the rooftop.
And think we found the spot.
We had to go through all of these crazy little doors
and windows to get up here.
I think this is the spot, man.
Are we gonna get yelled at for being up here?
I hope not.
These stairs are like busted.
Dude, the view of Babylon from here.
Oh baby!
How (beep) cool is this place?
- Amazing. I'm really amazed.
Not just Babylon, which is mind boggling,
but also the palace.
The palace is simply.
If you like dark tourism,
this place is one
of the 10 best things I've ever done.
- Like abandoned (beep).
Monrovia, we traveled in West Africa together
and we found a really abandoned hotel
with a pool and stuff.
What's crazy is all the graffiti surrounding
this entire palace from over the last few years,
people coming here and just writing stuff.
I don't know what it says, 'cause it's all in Arabic,
but it's really interesting how artsy
this place has become.
Love abandoned places.
Whenever I get the chance to explore them,
always do it.
- [Drew Voiceover] What a crazy experience
the last two hours of my life has been.
My adrenaline is still pumping
and I don't know if I'll ever witness something
this bizarre ever again.
- This is probably
the coolest abandoned building I've ever been in.
And I did this video quickly.
It's really just a sneak peek.
There's a lot more to see, a lot more rooms to go in,
but truth be told I have a lot more of Babylon to explore
and the sun is going down.
So I wanted to just make a,
just a story separately on Saddam Hussein's palace.
Absolutely mind blowing place.
Hope you guys enjoyed this video.
Stay tuned for more content all
around Iraq on Instagram, @drewbinsky.
Send me a message there.
Would love to hear from you guys
and moving onwards to the next.
Later, Saddam.
Peace.
Quickly, before you go.
If you're trying to get in touch with me
and I haven't responded the best way to do so is
by actually texting my phone, (310) 349-3854.
I am going one by one
and responding to all your messages on there.
And I also have a really cool email newsletter.
If you click the link in the description below,
you'll be able to join where I give you travel updates
and travel advice and tips.
And I also give a bunch of discounts and promotions
from travel brands and companies that I work with.
So with that being said, have a wonderful day guys,
and I'll see you next week for more Iraq videos.
(soft music)
Okay.
The final checkpoint, which I failed to,
I thought we'd already had the final one.
It was a bit more intense.
They held us for about five minutes,
asked a bunch of questions, show the passport,
show the COVID test.
And then all the smiles came
when they saw his passport.
Oh, he's from Spain.
Oh, Barcelona or Madrid, every time.
- Every single time.
It's a blessing, man. - You're so lucky.
- I'm really blessed.
- Not one time in all of my travels to every country
has anyone ever brought up a football team or anything,
because I don't know (beep) about football,
as any American doesn't.
But this guy.
- And the best thing is, if he's a Madrid fan,
we instantly connect.
If he's a Barcelona fan,
I throw him off, saying it's the (beep) team
and really doesn't expect that kinda answer so.
- No, but it still eases the conversation
because it's very tense when you first pull over.
And then all of a sudden you're Habibi
and smiling and laughing.
I'm Drew Binsky, and if you like my travel videos,
please click subscribe and ring that little bell
so you can get notified on all my upcoming videos
as I take you to every single country in the world.