Architecture

Mesopotamian cities were surrounded by high mud-brick walls to protect them from attacks. Houses were made of clay bricks, and most had flat roofs, where families slept at night to stay cool during the hot summers. The largest houses had courtyards in the center, where families cooked and talked.

At the center of each city was a ziggurat, a tall, step-shaped temple built to honor the city’s main god. These ziggurats looked like giant pyramids with stairs that reached toward the sky.

The most famous city was Babylon, a powerful empire that rose after the Sumerians. According to ancient stories, Babylon had the Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World — giant terraced gardens filled with trees, flowers, and waterfalls that seemed to float in the air. The city also had beautiful blue walls decorated with dragons and lions, known as the Ishtar Gate, which can still be seen in museums today.

Long ago in Mesopotamia, people told a story about a gigantic tower called the Tower of Babel. According to legend, the people wanted to build a tower so tall it could reach the heavens, higher than any ziggurat ever made. Brick by brick, it rose into the clouds… until something strange happened. No one could understand each other anymore! Workers suddenly spoke different languages, and the great project fell apart. Today, no one knows exactly where the tower stood or how tall it really was — some think it was inspired by the huge ziggurats of Babylon, and others believe it was just a myth. The mystery makes it even more exciting to imagine: a tower stretching upward forever, lost somewhere in time.