Just because it needs doing.
The future of the village of Hatra may be in its past.
The U.S. military is working with villagers to draw tourism dollars to the 2,000-year-old ruins in their back yard, the capital of the first Arab Kingdom...
Felix said that with fewer funds available for local projects, he had to come up with a way to bring money to the poor area in northern Iraq, about 70 miles southwest of Mosul.
His soldiers hired and trained local tour guides. Soldiers who normally fire guns now sound off about the history of the ruins, which lie in a low plain in the heart of Mesopotamia...
The soldiers hope that when they leave the area in a couple of months, they can turn the program over to the local tourism board. The plan for the 90-minute tour is to charge an entry fee of $1 for locals and $2 for soldiers, who can stay at the Al Hatra Hotel, a couple miles from the ruins.
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