One of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's palaces in the Babylon Tourist Resort in the Babil Governorate in central Iraq. All photos: AFP
Scattered across Iraq lie more than 100 opulent palaces and villas built by the former dictator.
A portrait of Saddam can be seen on one of his palaces in the Babylon Tourist Resort. Graffiti in Arabic reads "not entry".
Some of the buildings are in use, but many are in ruins like much of the war-scarred country.
In many places, the initials 'S.H.' are still visible as reminders of the despot who was toppled by the 2003 US-led invasion, captured later that year and executed in 2006.
Most of his palaces were looted during the chaos of the invasion, when thieves scavenged all they could carry, even ripping electric cables out of walls.
Only a handful of the palatial residences have been given a second lease of life, often as military bases or public administrations, more rarely as museums.
Most lie empty, in part because the cost of renovating them is prohibitive.
'We can turn palaces into museums, at least in Baghdad -- a tapestry museum, for example, or on the royal family or Islamic art,' said Laith Majid Hussein, director of the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage.
But Mr Hussein conceded that rehabilitating many of Iraq's "gigantic castles" would require "astronomical sums".
Red tape and entrenched corruption are other hurdles.
Bureaucracy and corruption hinder the restoration of these palaces to turn them into tourist complexes or heritage centres,' Mr Hussein said.
A palace complex near Baghdad International Airport.
Another view of the palace complex near Baghdad Airport.
In the turmoil of war, many palaces and monuments were damaged in fighting or used as bases by US and other foreign forces.
In Baghdad, three palaces now house the presidency and the prime minister's offices.
An inscription in Arabic reading 'Allahu Akbar' (God is great) in a palace complex near Baghdad's airport.
Iraq has a total of Saddam-era 166 residences, villas and other complexes.
A former palace complex which has been turned into an antiquities museum in the southern city of Basra.
An architect from the former regime said that since 2003 Iraqi governments had built little and proven unable 'to match what Saddam erected'.
In the southern city of Basra, three palaces remain.
Two are used by the Hashed al-Shaabi, a pro-Iranian paramilitary alliance now integrated into the Iraqi regular forces.
The third has become a prestigious antiquities museum.
Part of the palace complex turned into an antiquities museum in the southern city of Basra.
The antiquities museum in Basra.
One of the palaces in the Babylon Tourist Resort in the Babil Governorate in central Iraq.
A portrait of Saddam on one of his palaces in the Babylon Tourist Resort.
A picture of the interior of the palace complex near Baghdad International Airport.
In Babylon province, authorities plan to turn a palace overlooking the Unesco World Heritage site there into a museum.
Billions of dollars were spent on lavish structures with gold and marble fittings – no expense was spared.
The Iraqi government now owns all the dictator's former residences. Some think the palaces should be restored — even if the history is full of horrors. Others believe they should be left to fall apart, taking memories of war and death with them.
