We both wanted to check how things are in Baghdad after the sun sets, and since it would be difficult for me to return from downtown Baghdad to my distant district after i show my friend around, therefore i stayed at Babylon hotel where he stayed. We later enjoyed walking down Karrada street at night, and seeing people going out and about. We ate falafel at the famous Falih Restaurant, and drank grape juice from Jabbar some 200 meters (yards) away.
Babylon Hotel, in case you didn't know, is (or let's say it used to be) one of the best hotels in Baghdad. It has about 13 storeys and is built in the shape of an ancient ziggurat. It was (and still is) probably the last known hotel which is accessible to ordinary people, since all the other luxurious hotels are reserved for contractors and journalists.
Now what we first noticed in the pathway was that a plate of food, left by guests who ate chickens for dinner (at least) a day ago, and the leftovers were mainly bread.
Now we expected that a cleaner would pick these things up if not today (it was shortly after 2pm) then the next morning, but these leftovers were left there until next morning!
The next morning, we discovered that the leftovers were scattered by cat, which we heard growling two storeys below us!
The picture in which the leftovers were scattered, was taken *before* the other picture!
Please remember that!!
After that, we went out to finish some business downtown, and two hours later, we came back into the hotel. My friend was ready now to go back to Sulaimaniya, and i was ready to go back home, and we were ready for checking-out of the hotel.
What surprised us, or let's say shocked us, was when we saw that the leftovers which were scattered by the cat when we went out, were now re-arranged, and "neatly" put next to the wall, right at the same place they were left!!!!!
Now please don't get me wrong! I have nothing against cats. In fact i cannot even begin to imagine the world without cats. I just love cats, and appreciate any feline presence in my life; but not in a 4-star hotel i don't!
We went downstairs to settle the account and get out of there, but before we did, i asked the man (or let's say the dude) who was behind the desk. Remember that this was a 4-star hotel, once upon a time. He was definitely born after 1990, and was wearing a t-shirt, unlike the other ones who wear all wearing suits and ties. I greeted him, and asked him:
- "I'm sorry, but i have a couple of questions, please."
- "Sure!"
- "What's the rating of this hotel? Who many stars?"
- "Ummmmm, Aaaaaaaa, Errrrrrrrr... I don't know....." chuckling.
- "Ok, there is another thing. There were some leftovers in the pathway next to our door. They were there since yesterday afternoon, and i don't know for how much time they've been there!"
- "The cleaners would get to them..."
- "Well, it seems that they've already got to that sector. You see, they were scattered this morning, and now they are arranged, so a cleaner must've been there."
Right here, the dude lost track of what i've been saying, so i thought i should change the subject:
- "And what about the cat?"
- "What cat?"
- "There is a cat roaming in the floors! I think there's more than one because one was growling and i think there was a fight!"
- "Yes, we have cats problem in the building, and it is difficult for us to restrict their movements."
At that point, i thought that i cannot continue with this heartaching converation. I was really feeling sad for this hotel in which i stayed in 2004 and 2006, and it was better then, but what i was seeing now was a disaster!
It had definitely turned into a cat hotel, where cats' interests are more important than human interests, although the cats aren't paying $80 a night! The humans are!!!
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