The famous Lion of Babylon is lying on the filthy ground and surrounded with barbed wire, more than six years after the U.S.-led invasion.

West of the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II, the palace of Saddam Hussein, which contains dozens of rooms, still boasts manuscripts which are glorifying the former president.

The place has become a resort for lovers and doves, as many of its doors and windows were looted after the collapse of the former regime.

Qadouri, an Iraqi who visited the ruins 11 years ago, told Xinhua sadly: "The occupation forces had no mercy for this ancient land which hosts significant sites of the human history. They parked their tanks and heavy armored vehicles with relics at Saddam Hussein's palace near the ruins of Babylon."

After being badly damaged by the Multi-National Forces in Iraq from 2003 to 2005, the world famous Babylon relics lie quite peacefully to greet a delegation from the World Trade Organization(WTO) joined by Iraqi local journalists earlier this week.

Hadi Gatie Mossa, an Iraqi archeologist, explained to the visitors about theatres and the King's palace which includes 200 rooms and large halls, along with bridges, marketplaces, temples, walls and towers.

Mossa said that after 2003, the U.S. and Polish troops at the site gave him a permission to visit the ruins. "I have to say that some of the soldiers were cooperative, but taking the ruins site as a military base was totally wrong and devastating."

Babylon is the capital of Babylonia, whose remains can be found near the city of Hilla, some 100 km south of Baghdad.

The city was officially recognized as one of the first civilizations on earth. However, all that remains of the ancient city is a mound of broken mud-brick buildings and debris in the fertile Mesopotamian plain between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Iraq.

Although it has been reconstructed, historical resources inform us that Babylon was at first a small town, which had sprung up by the beginning of the third millennium BC (the dawn of the dynasties).

The city is home to the famed Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of antiquity. The 4,000-year-old city became military "Camp Alpha" soon after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

The visit of the delegation was aimed at studying the possibility for the WTO to contribute to bringing the ancient city back to its normal position as one of the world's main historical sites.

The delegation and some Iraqi media workers who were allowed to join the trip entered the ruins from the ancient Ishtar Gate and walked through the Procession Avenue which is close to the palace of the Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 BC).

Earlier in the month, experts of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said that the U.S. troops and contractors inflicted considerable damage on the historic Iraqi site of Babylon, driving heavy machinery over sacred paths, bulldozing hilltops and digging trenches through one of the world' most important archaeological sites.

"We have also authenticated the damages in the ruins site which were made by the foreign troops and sent them to the UNESCO," said Mariam al-Omran, head of Antiquities Department in Babel Province.

A U.S. embassy statement said that the U.S. authorities contributed 700,000 dollars to save the ancient ruins of Babylon.

The sum was considered too little for help. "The contribution will not remove the negative impacts on the ruins by making the historical site a military base," Qadouri said commenting on the U.S. embassy statement.

Al-Omran said that the ruins need to be rehabilitated as quickly as possible, considering the U.S. embassy statement of helping to protect the ruins was "helpful but not enough."

"There is a need for the excavation teams to come back soon," she added.

Larry Morgan, an official in the WTO delegation said that his organization is endeavored to help the ancient ruins of Babylon to become once again a site that attracts international tourists as one the world's most important heritages.