London:
Looking for an exotic honeymoon destination? Well, try out war-ravaged Iraq where you can have sex in Saddam Hussein's bed for just 150 pounds per night.
Yes, it may sound a little awkward, but Iraq is offering newlyweds the chance to spend their wedding night in the former dictator's bedroom in his palatial boudoir in the town of Hillah, some 60 miles south of capital Baghdad.
"We hope that many people will visit," leading British newspaper <I>The Sunday Times</I> quoted a tourism official in the battle-scarred town as saying.
With its Roman columns, chandeliers and gargantuan bathrooms, the palace is a striking example of excess, and one of several reserved for the exclusive pleasure of the former dictator, who was deposed in 2003 and executed in 2006.
Perched on top of a man-made hill overlooking the Euphrates, the building has seen better days: even lavatories were removed in the orgy of looting that followed the allied invasion of the country in 2003.
Until 2005, it was occupied by American troops, who have left their mark in the stonework with a various graffiti such as "Brian loves Brandy".
Today, outlying buildings that used to house soldiers from Saddam's special guard have been refurbished and turned into luxury hotel rooms with widescreen TV sets and king-size beds. Now the palace bedrooms are to be revamped, and that could take a considerable time.
"We expect these tourists will convey a positive message to their citizens back home that the situation in Iraq is good," said Abdul Zahra al-Telagani, a Spokesman for the Tourism and Antiquities Ministry.
