Peace Monuments in the Middle East

Afghanistan

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September 2002 - Friendship Gate, between Spin Boldak (Afghanistan) & Chaman (Pakistan). "Two large ochre arches covered in blue tiles, overlooking scores of ramshackle Afghan & Pakistani traders' stalls in a one-kilometer no-man's land....completed in September, but its official inauguration has been postponed back several times. Shah blames the Kabul administration. 'The local Afghan authorities want this,' he said, 'but it's the people in Kabul who are making problems.'" "One of nearly 1,000 posts on the Afghan-Pakistani border. At night, the border is largely unguarded, allowing Taliban fighters, weapons & drugs to pass through."

Date? - Monument to peace, Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province (Afghanistan). "An ironic reminder of US development [sic]." "It is difficult to imagine that this is actually a warzone where thousands of people have died. The centre of a roundabout boasts a monument to peace - a globe held aloft by the wings of three white doves. Amazingly, vandals have not sullied the shapes representing the countries of America & Britain, felt by many to be unwanted occupiers."

2008 -Bamiyan Peace Park, Bamiyan (Afghanistan). "Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers (AYPV), ranging in age from 8 to 20, [had] the same expectation as adults that all civic projects depend on foreign aid. [But] the owner of a local hotel donated soil, two construction companies loaned graders, & the AYPV came with shovels to remove rocks & help with leveling. An international NGO offered funding for the sign as well as construction of toilets. In a clear declaration of their self-confidence, the youth voted to refuse the donation. Eventually, they had an opportunity to sell a book to raise funds and, through its sales paid for a 5-foot-high, 4-foot-wide, pentagonal brick monument, a marble plaque inset with the words in Dari script: "Bamiyan Peace Park Established 1388" (according to the Muslim lunar calendar). The script at the top of the monument reads: "Why not love? Why not make peace?" Vandals defaced the lettering, intentionally splattering red paint across it to resemble drops of blood. The boys came together, recreated the lettering & on the reverse side added the words: "Even a little of our love is stronger than a war of the worlds.'"

March 21, 2009 - Peace Pole?, Shrine of Hazrat Ali (also known as the Blue Mosque), Mazar-i-Sharif (Afghanistan). "A large pole is raised at the shrine, marking the first day of the [Iranian] New Year 1388 in a ceremony that draws thousands of turbaned Pashtuns from the south, Tajiks in flat hats from the west, and Mongol-featured Hazaras to pray for peace at the blue monument built in honour of Ali, the fourth caliph of Islam."

Egypt

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1971 - Egyptian-Russian Friendship Monument, Aswan High Dam, Nile River, Egypt. 71-meter tower designed by Soviet sculptor Ernst Neizvestny. Commemorates Soviet help in the construction of the Aswan High Dam. Also known as the Lotus Flower Tower.

1981? - Victory Memorial & Tomb of Anwar Sadat, Medinet Nasr, near Cairo (Eqypt). Pyramid-shaped memorial commemorates the War of October 1973. Sadat's tomb is under the memorial. Anwar al-Sadat [1918-1981] received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978. The nearby October War Panorama (right image) was built on a suggestion made to Hosni Mubarak by Kim Il Sung of North Korea when the Egyptian president visited that country in 1983.

B E L L

About 1991 - Peace Bell, Chapel of the Holy Trinity, Musa Gebal / Mount Sinai, Sinai Peninsula (Egypt). Cast by Grassmayr Bell Foundry (qv) of Innsbruck (Austria). From plaque: "PEACE for everyone in the world!" From foundry brochure: "On Moses' Holy Mount of three religions (Judaism, Christianity & Islam) a bell rings for peace."

November 20, 2009 - Peace Monument, Wausau, Wisconsin (USA). "Brainchild of Egyptian exchange student Mustafah Saleh and Chuck McCarthy from the Good News Project. Richard Riley from the State Department and Mahmoud Amer from the Egyptian Consulate...talked about the importance of local diplomacy and how it's interactions like this that can lead to peace, not just on a strategic or national scale, but person to person. Saleh said he will take its plans back home and get a similar structure built there.

Iran

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1971 - Azadi Tower / Freedom Tower, Azadi Square, Tehran (Iran). The symbol of Tehran, and marks the entrance to the city. 50 metres (148 feet) tall and is completely clad in cut marble. Built to commemorate the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire. Originally known as the Shahyad Aryamehr ("Remembrance of the Shahs") but renamed Azadi after the Iranian Revolution of 1979.

Date? - Peace Monument, at Azadi Museum?, Azadi Tower / Freedom Tower, Azadi Square, Tehran (Iran).

Date? - Sarab (Irân). Globe with doves of peace. Who built this, when & why? NB: Dayton International Peace Museum publishes a post card with an image of this monument.

June 29, 2007 - Tehran Peace Monument, City Park, Tehran (Irân). Unveiled on the 20th anniverary of the chemical attack on the town of Sardashi in northwestern Iran. Depicts a white dove mounted on a marble pedestal and decorated by a message in six languages: "That terrible suffering gave us a new understanding of the cruelty of war, the terror of weapons of mass destruction, and the importance of peace. Until the day when all people on Earth can live in peace, we will continuously send messages of peace to the world."

September 21, 2007 - Tehran Peace Museum, City Park, Tehran (Iran). An initiative of the Society for Chemical Weapons Victims Support (SCWVS), assisted by the Dayton International Peace Museum of Dayton, Ohio (USA). Dedicated on the 20th anniverary of the chemical attack on the town of Sardashi in northwestern Iran. Opened on International Day for Peace. The Tehran Peace Monument (qv) was unveiled June 29, 2007, 150 meters from the museum. Member of International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP).

Iraq

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May 29, 2003 - Najeen / Survivor, Fardus Square, Baghdad (Iraq). On same pedestal from which the statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled on April 9, 2003. "For the new plaster sculpture, 23 feet tall (7 meters), the Najeen created abstract figures of a mother, father, and child holding a crescent moon, symbol of Islam, around a sun, symbol of the Sumerian civilization... The graffiti-marked pedestal bears a sign with the sculpture's title: 'NAJEEN.'"

October 2006 - SIEV X Memorial, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (Australia). Commemorates 300 refugees (mostly Iraqi) who were rescued in October 2001 from a 19.5 metre fishing boat. SIEV is naval jargon for "Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel." Temporary monument reconstructed annually.

September 2003 - Halabja Martyrs Monument & Museum, Halabja (Iraq). A 100-foot-tall modern structure with a museum inside. Honors the thousands of people killed in 1988 when Saddam Hussein's army infamously attacked the town with chemical weapons. Opened just six months after the US invasion of Iraq. Secretary of State Colin Powell & other US dignitaries attended opening ceremony and were received by cheering crowds in the streets. Demonstrators set the monument on fire March 16, 2006, in protest against lack of government assistance.

September 18, 2003 - Jardin de la Paix / Peace Garden, Domaine de Trembley, rue Moillebeau, Geneva (Switzerland). Jardin impressionniste de Moillebeau renamed in memory of Brazilian Sergio Vieira de Mello [1948-2003] and 21 other United Nations employees who were killed in Baghdad (Iraq) on August 19, 2003.

F O R E S T

Future - Olive Branch Living Memorial Forest, near Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan (Northern Iraq). "An olive tree planted in memory of each American service person lost during the recent conflicts. A permanent memorial structure featuring the names of every soldier who gave his or her life will also be built on the land... Will commemorate the lives of American soldiers lost in Iraq. The land for this project, over 300 acres of prime property, has been generously donated to Generation Iraq, an American non-profit organization, by the government of Iraqi Kurdistan..."

Israel

Not in this file. Click here for monuments in Israel.

Jordan

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Date? - Brazen Serpent Monument, Mount Nebo, Madaba (Jordan). Also called "Staff of Moses" & "Serpent of Moses" (Numbers 21:4-9). On mountaintop (about 2680 feet above sea level) where Moses was given a view of the promised land that God was giving to the Israelites: "And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho." (Deuteronomy 34:1). Serpentine cross sculpture created by Italian artist Giovanni Fantoni. Symbolic of the bronze serpent created by Moses in the wilderness (Numbers 21:4-9) & the cross upon which Jesus was crucified (John 3:14). /// "27 km in front of the Brazen Serpent is Jericho (Palestine). Jerusalem (Israel) is west of Jericho & 46 km from the Brazen Serpent. On a clear day, it is said that a clear view of the promised land can be seen from this vantage point."

P A I N T I N G S

1953 - "The Exodus" & "Where to ...?," artist's collection, Amman (Jordan). Oil paintings on canvas by Ismail Shammout [1930-2006] -- himself one of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were expelled from their homeland, Palestine, in 1948. "Where to...?" depicts the Lydda Death March in July 1948. This painting has attained iconic status in Palestinian culture. It is perhaps the best-known version of his several representations of the refugee experience of the Palestinians. In the foreground, it depicts a life-size image of an elderly man dressed in rags carrying a walking stick in his left hand while his right hand grasps the wrist of a crying child. A sleeping toddler on his shoulder is resting his cheek upon the old man's head. Just behind them is a third child crying and walking alone. In the background there is a skyline of an Arab town with a minaret, while in the middle ground there is a withered tree."

M E M O R I A L After 1997 - Memorial to Massacre Victims, Island of Peace, Naharayim, between Jordan River & Yarmuk River (Jordan). Commemorates the Island of Peace Massacre which occurred on March 13, 1997 when Jordanian Army Corporal Ahmed Daqamseh opened fire on a group of Israeli schoolgirls, killing seven. "This site was named the Island of Peace when Israel & Jordan signed the peace treaty here in 1994. According to this accord, the "island" is under Jordanian sovereignty, but is owned by the two kibbutzim of Ashedot Yaakov, which cultivate the land, manage tourist enterprises & develop the site."

M U R A L S

1997-2000 - "Palestine: The Exodus and the Odyssey," Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts (Jordan). "A collection of 19 large murals painted by Ismail Shammout & Temam al Akhal. The paintings illustrate, in chronological sequence, the plight of the Palestinian people since the creation of Israel in 1948 - from exodus and destitution to reconstruction, struggle & reassertion of their rights. It is the artists' impression as witnessed and personally experienced. The collection starts with the once-upon-a-time 'The Spring That Was,' featuring idyllic pastoral landscape, smiling peasant women, children & dancing. Then begins a chronicle of the Palestinian plight; the forceful uprooting from their homes, the long march, the refugees & the Diaspora, working as professionals in various sectors abroad. As we enter the modern period, the paintings shift away from a narrative mode to a more symbolic one. In 'Homage to the Martyrs,' [upper image] the red canvas represents a sea of blood, melting into a carpet of roses, with women dressed in white, their dresses inscribed with names of massacres & martyrs. Shammout's final painting [lower image] features the corpse of a Palestinian woman, in the shape of the map of Palestine, with red needlework on her dress spelling the words 'love, good, patience, tomorrow…' & names of Palestinian cities 'Nablus, Jaffa, Jerusalem, Nazareth…' These epic pieces of art are witnesses to Palestinian history, to the Palestinian attachment to their land, the heart-wrenching pain of loss & exile, the undying hope for future redemption."

B R I D G E

Late 1990's - "Subsequent to the Israel-Jordan peace treaty [on October 26, 1994], a new modern paved crossing was constructed adjacent to the older wooden one with the aid of the Japanese Government. This new structure is currently used exclusively." It is currently the designated exit/entry point for Palestinians residing in the West Bank traveling to and from Jordan to the West Bank & Israel. /// Peace Pole visible in air photo behind the bus?

B R I D G E

P O L E

1918 - Allenby Bridge, Jordan River (between Palestine & Jordan). Connects Jericho in the West Bank to the Kingdom of Jordan. The original bridge was built in 1918 over a remnant of an old Ottoman colonial era bridge by the British General Edmund Allenby [1861-1936]. It was destroyed once in the Night of the Bridges operation by Palmach at June 16, 1946. It was destroyed again during the Six-Day War [in June 1967], but was replaced in 1968 with a temporary truss-type bridge. This bridge is still called the Allenby Bridge by Israelis, although it is also known as Al-Karameh Bridge to Palestinian Arabs, and the King Hussein Bridge to Jordanians. /// Lower image shows Peace Pole at the bridge in 1993.

P A I N T

2005 - "The Olive Tree," in artist's collection?, Amman (Jordan). By Ismail Shammout [1930-2006] -- one of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were expelled from their homeland, Palestine, in 1948. See his paintings from 1953.

P A R K

Future - Jordan River Peace Park, Peace Island, Naharayim (Israel & Jordan). "Project being spearheaded by the trilateral NGO Friends of the Earth Middle East, headquartered in Tel Aviv, Bethlehem & Amman." "A six-day international design workshop in architecture on Tuesday opened at Naharayim. The participants are faculty & students from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut (USA), and the Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design, Jerusalem (Israel), together with Jordanian, Palestinian & Israeli architects. Seeks to extend the development on the Israeli side of the site to the Jordanian side to create a a transborder protected area in which both Israelis & Jordanians will be able to cross the river from either side without the need for a visa. The site is 10 kilometers south of the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret), at the confluence of the Yarmuk & Jordan rivers. The park area will include the former Rutenberg hydroelectric power station [image] & the Three Bridges site, an historic crossing point of the Jordan River valley.

Future - "Valley of Peace" (Israel, Jordan & Palestine). "A Red-to-Dead Sea canal project that would solve the area's water crisis. Can it bring Israelis & Arabs together? Itzhak Tshuva (Isaac Sharon) has set his sights on the Arava, an arid valley along the southern portion of the border between Israel & Jordan. If his vision comes to pass, the private sector will build a $3 billion canal that not only connects the Red Sea to the Dead Sea but also links Israelis, Jordanians & Palestinians - possibly helping bring about peace through greater economic integration. This so-called "Valley of Peace" is part of a 520-kilometer (323-mile) corridor being proposed by Israeli President Shimon Peres for regional economic development. About 420 km of the corridor runs along the Jordanian border - with no fences, walls or minefields - and another 100 km touches on the Palestinian territories. Other projects envisioned by Peres involving the German, Japanese & Turkish governments are meant to create up to a million new jobs in Israel & the West Bank."

Lebanon

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P A I N T I N G

1976 - Untitled, Beirut, Lebanon. Oil on canvas by Abdel Hamid Baalbaki (208 x 370 cm). Exhibited in "The Road to Peace: Paintings in Times of War, 1975-1991," first exhibition in the new Beirut Art Center (June 17-July 14, 2009). "Curated by Saleh Barakat. Hopes to show several artistic experiences directly related to the traumatisms of the Lebanese civil war produced by Lebanese artists and executed between 1975 and 1991. The body of works, in different media and practices, reflects an art that has been seldom shown in galleries or public spaces because of its violence and despair. It was produced under pain and anger in a form of expiation, cleansing and apology from the hostility, brutality and cruelty of a mad environment. 20 artists will be exhibited to highlight a period of the Lebanese art scene that has been kept in the dark for a long time."

M E M O R I A L S After 1982 - Sabra & Shatilla Memorials, South Beirut (Lebanon). Israeli troops massacred 700-3,500 Palestinians & Lebanese in the Sabra & Shatilla refugee camps September 16-18, 1982, during the Lebanese civil war.

M E M O R I A L

October 22, 1988 - Beirut Memorial, Lejeune Boulevard & Montford Landing Road, Jacksonville, North Carolina (USA). Near Camp Lejeune. Inscribed "They came in peace." Honors the 220 US Marines and 21 other servicemen killed on October 23, 1983, when their barracks in Beirut were destroyed by a suicide bomber driving a truck full of explosives.

T O W E R

1995 - Tour de la Paix / Peace Tower, Beirut (Lebanon). Concrete tower embedding old guns and tanks. "Accumulation de chars et de canons dans du béton, 32 m de haut et d'un poids de 6 000 tonnes. La plus grande sculpture faite par Arman [1928-2005] à ce jour. Une des plus grandes sculptures contemporaines dans le monde."

M A R K E R

July 6, 2006 - Peace Marker Republic of Lebanon, Point of Peace #7, International Center of Human Studies, Byblos (Lebanon). One of eight Worldwide Peace Markers.

Date? - Peace Monument, Tibnin village (Lebanon). Image shows Belgium's Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy placing flowers at a peace monument as he stands next to UN peacekeepers [from Belgium] in south Lebanon on April 17, 2009. Monument is inscribed "For peace."

Libya

Not in this file. Click here for monuments in Africa.

Palestine

Not in this file. Click here for monuments in Palestaine (including Gaza Strip & West Bank).

Qatar

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T O W E R

Future - Khalifa Olympic Peace Tower, Doha (Qatar). Projected 300-meter tower.

Saudi Arabia

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F O U N T

October 24, 1998 - J. William Fulbright Peace Fountain, Old Main, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas (USA). Designed by Fay Jones & Maurice Jennings. Fulbright was president of this university. Giggest contributor is Saudi Arabia. As US Senator, he chaired the Committee on Foreign Relations. Entry #28 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

Syria

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Future - Peace Road (Syria & Israel?). "A highway that will eventually link Syria to Jerusalem. Has unofficially been called the Peace Road. Forward planning or wishful thinking? On the outskirts of the village of Qatana (16 miles SW of Damascus), construction is well underway. The highway's planned route passes into Israel through the town of Quneitra [right image] in the Golan Heights, perhaps back in Syrian hands by the time the highway is completed. When contacted, Syrian transport officials declined to comment on where the highway was actually leading. If recent comments from senior politicians are anything to go by, peace between Syria & Israel would appear far off... -- Los Angeles Times, April 22, 2010."

Turkey

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September 1, 1953 - Peace Park, Ankara (Turkey). "Surrounds Anitkabir (literally, "memorial tomb"), the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk [1881-1938], the leader of the Turkish War of Independence & the founder & first president of the Republic of Turkey. Called a Peace Park in honor of Atatürk's famous expression "Peace at home, peace in the world." It contains around 50,000 decorative trees, flowers & shrubs in 104 varieties, donated from around 25 countries." /// "Several trees & saplings were taken from Afghanistan, USA, Germany, Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark, Finland, France, India, Iraq, England, Spain, Israel, Italy, Japan, Canada, Cyprus, Egypt, Norway, Portugal, Yugoslavia & Greece. Today, the Peace Park contains approximately 48,500 trees & plants, from 104 different species."

Date? - Atatürk Peace Monument, Kusadasi (Turkey). "Monument of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk [1881-1938] & youth with Turkish flags in the background. Signifies peace & hope."

2001 - Monument to Peace, Demre (Turkey). By Russian artist Gregory Pototsky. "Height, 6 meters, in marble & wood). "A prediction monument. Precisely reflects the twin-towers in New York. This monument became the main object for the film, which was made in the same year. This monument was certainly received rather timidly at first by the people of Turkey, but soon came to understand it's simple sculptural meditation on eternity. This piece was one of the few orders received by the painter/sculptor with absolutely no pre conception or suggestive guidance; he thus had total freedom to create, uncensored, an genius masterpiece in simplicity, courage & absolute art mastery."

Date? - Statue of Peace, end of the pier, Turgutreis, Bodrum Peninsula (Turkey). "I just love this statue on the pier in Turgutreis. It is sooo beautiful."

Date? - Hand of Peace Monument, Marina, Kusadasi (Turkey). On the main tourist Marina. Kusadasi is Major Tourist attraction in the Aegean and is visited by about 650 cruise ships per year. A live olive tree is part of the monument.

Date? - "Hands" statue, Abdi Ipekci Park, Ankara (Turkey). By sculptor Metin Yurdanur.

March 8, 2006 - Peace Marker Republic of Turkey, Point of Peace #6, Freedom Park, Isanbul (Turkey). One of eight Worldwide Peace Markers. Image shows Freedom Park.

August 26, 1989 - World Peace Bell #3, Cinnah Caddesi, Cankaya, Ankara (Turkey). One of 20 WPB's installed in 16 different countries by the World Peace Bell Association (WPBA), Tokyo (Japan). Scanned left image courtesy of WPBA.

2008-2011 - Monument to Humanity, Kars (Turkey). "For Naif Alibeyoglu, the former mayor of Kars whose idea it was, supposed to represent the victory of peace over enmity, its flood-lighting visible from neighbouring Armenia, 40 kilometres away. In Kars, opposition was led by Oktay Aktas, local head of the Nationalist Action Party, or MHP. “Why is one figure standing with its head bowed, as if ashamed," Aktas asks. Today, it stands unfinished. Its three-metre high hand, supposed to join the two figures, was never attached. It lies fingers up in the gravel in front. /// Reuters 12Jan 11: " The row centres on the prime minister's right to demand the removal of an artwork on aesthetic grounds. His comments come at a time when rapprochement between Muslim Turkey and Christian Armenia is at a standstill. Erdogan's comments have been seized on by Turkish nationalists who condemn the monument's message of understanding. A bid to normalise ties between neighbouring Turkey and Armenia suffered a blow last April when Yerevan froze ratification of a US-brokered peace accord. /// Armenian Weekly, March 11, 2011: "The demolition began on April 26 while Armenians worldwide commemorated the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. In the presence of riot police, the heads of the statues were dismounted & trucked away. Thus, a conciliatory symbol has itself become a target of intolerance - a fate sculptor Mehmet Aksoy has likened to the destruction of Buddhist relics by the Taliban.""

S H I P

May 31, 2010 - MV Mavi Marmara. Owned by the Islamic charity Insani Yardim Vakfi / Foundation for Human Rights & Freedom & Humanitarian Relief (IHH). Israeli commandos attacked the Turkish ship in international waters with about 600 peace activsts on board as it and five other vessels were en route to Gaza with 10,000 tons of construction materials and humanitrian supplies. Israel has blockaded Gaza since 2007.

Turkmenistan

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Date? - Independence & Peace Monument, Ashgabat (Turkmenistan).

United Arab Emirates

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Date? - Globe Mobile Home Trailer, Rainbow Sheikh's Car Museum, Dubai (United Arab Emirates). Exactly 1 millionth the size of the actual earth. Contains 8 bedrooms. In the Guiness Book of Records for the largest operable mobile home in the world. Belongs to Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan al Nahyan, nicknamed the Rainbow Sheikh for the rainbow he puts on the many vehicles in his collection.

Uzbekistan

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1986 - Istoriceskij Muzej Samarkanda / International Museum of Peace and Solidarity, Samarkand (Uzbekistan). "Museum runs a wide range of educational activities and international projects, as well as housing about 20,000 exhibit pieces from over 100 countries. It's probably the only place in the world where visitors can see a piece of the Berlin Wall, fragments of Soviet and US nuclear missiles, a part of an A-bombed roof tile from Nagasaki, soil from Auschwitz, in one place." Member of International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP).

September 12, 1988 - Seattle Peace Park, Tashkent (Uzbekistan). "Covers a territory of 1.5 acres. The Seattle-Tashkent Sister City Association along with Peace Corps Volunteers created the park, decorating it with a fountain, a mosaic map of the world [in image], a striking sculpture by a Seattle-based artist, many decorative and unique tiles designed by Seattle citizens, and planting the trees that have grown over the years and now shade half of the park." Photo courtesy of Anatoly Ionesov 11/08.

April 21, 2003 - World Peace Bell, Babur Culture and Recreation Park, Tashkent (Uzbekistan). Photo courtesy of Anatoly Ionesov 11/08. One of 20 WPB's placed in 16 different countries by the World Peace Bell Association of Tokyo, Japan.