I visited this WHS in September 2024. Most of this WHS has not been excavated yet, and judging by most of the lame reconstructions above ground and by the iconic artefacts (above all perhaps, the amazing glazed tiles of the Ishtar Gate and the Babylonian Map of the World clay tablet) which can be found in the National Museum of Baghdad and in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, this is definitely a good thing. The Euphrates river has long vanished from this site and problems of water drainage and rising groundwater levels among the original and/or reconstructed mud brick structures are still a huge headache.

Luckily, the World Monument Fund is now being used quite well to restore the mud brick Ninmakh Temple as well as some of the main elements close to the processional street although a lot more work is needed to strike a better balance between restoration of reconstructions and excavation. If you keep your eyes peeled for some detail among the reconstructions, you'll be able to spot a few original bricks with cuneiform writing among the bricks with Saddam Hussein's name, a few original tiles of the processional street, some original dried mudbricks cemented with bitumen, and much easier to spot, the Lion of Babylon statue. I'm very glad I visited Babylon, but it is one of those important ancient city WHS like Nineveh, Troy, Carthage, etc. where it is very difficult to grasp their OUV from what's left in situ, and much easier to appreciate by gazing at their great archaeological artefacts scattered in different museums worldwide.