Setting

1770-1760 BC

I walked into Hammurabi's palace and I could'nt believe what I saw. It was a two -story house that held over three hundred rooms. I walked into richly decorated throne room.  The floors and walls were covered with reed mats, skin rugs, and woolen hangings. There were beautiful low tables and high back chairs everywhere, which were decorated with gold. His house was different than my simple one- story, mud brick house. There were also beautiful bronze statues of Hammurabi’s ancestors.

A servant came up to me, holding a plate of apples, pears, grapes,  figs, plums, pistachios and pomegranates. I wasn't very hungry but I took my favorite grapes just to be respectful.  The grapes tasted so fresh and sweet, like they were just plucked of the tree. The sweetness went through my tongue like a blade. I was offered some wine, but I declined because I don't trust anything that doesn't already exist on earth. I took some water, it tasted wonderful, it was cold and fresh, it truly quenched my thirst. I recognized that water; it was from the Euphrates River.

I began to touch my surroundings because everything was so strange to me. I touched the bronze statues and placed my hand all over them trying to get the sculptor’s feel. They were smooth and cold. I touched the skin rugs, and they felt so soft and warm against my tired hands.

I heard the beautiful music of the servants/ music of Hammurabi. I heard the drums, tambourines, and pipes of reed and metal. I also heard the voice of a beautiful lady praising Hammurabi in her song. It sounded beautiful and it intoxicated me to the extent that I didn’t know where I was or what I was doing.

I smelled the beautiful smell of incense. It felt like a flower that has just blossomed in my nose. I was in paradise. I could also smell the smell of the lamb being cooked, my mouth began to water, and my appetite just opened up. Aah!

Samar Al Ansari

Grade 9.2

March 8, 2003