MinnesotaMel

Working in a palace

My first day of work went smoothly. I attended lots of meetings (it looks like this job will be very "meeting-ful"). I also started going through my check in list. The actual check in process here is similar to most other places I have been, but the one advantage here is the "office building." We are still officed at the Palace. I cannot begin to describe the amazing things I saw today as I wandered from one office to another doing my check in process. Let's start in my office. My office was probably once a guest bedroom, closet and bath. The floor is beautiful inlaid marble. The bathroom has gold fixtures on everything. The ceilings are at least 15 feet high, but they have been painted an unfortunate shade of creamy peach (I am sure that was a post-Saddam change made to add a calm feeling to the room.)

The hallways throughout the building have amazing ceilings. I am going to get a stiff neck or run smack into someone if I don't stop staring at the ceilings. Most of the hallways I have seen so far have carved flowers and other designs. They appear to have been hand carved and hand painted. I am wishing for a tall step ladder so I can get closer to see the detail in them. The floors in the halls are also fabulous- inlaid marble in flower and other patterns. I could go on for pages about the beauty of the artistry in this place. I feel lucky to have a chance to work here, even for a short time. In a future blog I will describe the ballrooms and rotundas and other parts of the building I have not been able to explore yet, but promise to stun me even further with their beauty.

Unfortunately, there are also signs of the damage that has been done because of our use of the building for offices. The afforementioned peach paint. The beauty of the floors covered up with desks and cubicles. Curtain ties and chandelier strands missing. Fancy furniture, not designed for constant use, with faded cushions and gaping holes. Even worse are the huge chunks of the building that have been destroyed by incoming mortar fire and electrical fires.

posted by MinnesotaMel @ 8:23 AM