Iraqi prime minister to view Berlin's Babylon exhibition (Extra)

Jul 22, 2008, 15:00 GMT

Berlin - Visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is to inspect on Wednesday a major exhibition of treasures excavated from Babylon in southern Iraq, German Foreign Ministry officials said.

The 'Babylon, Myth and Truth' show unites the most valued finds now in the custody of Berlin, Paris and London including the Processional Way and the Ishtar Gate which are permanently displayed in the Pergamon Museum on the Berlin Island of Museums.

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier would escort al-Maliki through the show about the ancient Babylonian civilization, Steinmeier aides said. Al-Maliki met Tuesday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The Berlin show till October 5 is a joint venture with the Louvre of Paris and the British Museum of London. It is the first time the treasures have been reunited in one place since being removed from the buried ruins of Babylon a century ago.

The Pergamon museum has been criticized in the past by Turkey and Egypt, which have questioned its ownership of treasures.

Turkish officials fret at the loss of the Pergamon Altar, a Greek temple from Bergama, Turkey. In 2004, Cairo vainly sought to 'take home' the bust of ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti when it was put on display at the Pergamon.