The story
Hillah Arts Festival in Hillah
Hillah's major arts event, most commonly documented as the Babylon International Festival, stages concerts and theater directly among the ruins of ancient Babylon each September, mixing maqam and folk music with contemporary performance. Running since 1985 with an eighteen-year interruption after 2003, it draws Iraqi and international artists to the archaeological site itself.
Hillah, the modern city adjoining the ruins of ancient Babylon about 120 kilometers south of Baghdad, is the staging ground for what is most commonly documented as the Babylon International Festival, an arts event held directly against the archaeological backdrop since 1985.