Ur ancient city lit up to receive Pope Francis

Shafaq News / The Nasiriyah Cultural Museum announced that Ur 

city will be lit up, in preparation for Pope Francis's visit to Iraq.

Ur was the Sumerian state's capital in 2100 BC, and according to religious narratives, it is the birthplace of the Prophet Ibrahim Al-Khalil in 2000 BC.

The director-general of the Museum, Amer Abdel Razzaq, told Shafaq News agency, "The preparations for the Pope's visit, which begins early next week, are 95% complete."

Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Iraq between 5 and 8 March, which is the first-ever visit of the Pope of the Vatican to the country.

Iraq is characterized by a multiplicity of ethnicities and religions, as Christians come as the second-largest religion, with about 450,000 people, according to unofficial estimates, after their number was close to 1.8 million before the overthrow of the former regime in 2003.

Many Iraqi Christians immigrated to Europe, the United States and other countries, fleeing the security turmoil and terrorist attacks.