During a press conference that was supposed
to discuss the opening of a new airport in
Dhi Qar, Iraq's transport minister, Kazem
Finjan, surprised reporters when he diverted
from the talking points to claim that the
ancient middle-eastern nation's location was
once home to space stations built by extraterrestrials.
Finjan referred to the ancient astronaut theorist
Zecharia Sitchin, saying:
"I invite those who doubt to read the book
of the great Sumerian historian Zecharia Sitchin,
or the books of Samuel Kramer including one
entitled 'History Begins at Sumer' which speaks
of the first airport constructed on planet
earth, and it is there at el Naciria."
"The particularity of this place is that it
remains the safest for the landing and takeoff
of aircraft, due to favorable weather conditions.
When the Sumerians settled on this land, they
were aware of this and have chosen specifically
for their flights to other planets"
Zecharia Sitchin was an author who wrote and
promoted the ancient astronaut theory before
his death on October 9th, 2010, decades before
the Ancient Aliens became a worldwide sensation
on History channel.
Within Ufology and forbidden archeology circles,
Sitchin is often credited for revealing the
hidden history and origins of humanity, based
on alleged alternative translations of Sumerian
tablets from antiquity.
However, these interpretations are hotly contested.
And some now believe that Sitchin was a 'disinformation'
agent for certain hidden forces that wanted
to promote an agenda that might have had an
air of truth to it.
One of Sitchin's claims is regarding ancient
sites in the Middle East in Egypt and the
Palestine-Israel area, which he says were
once home to space stations used by the Annunaki
for thousands of years.
He also claims that they were abandoned by
the non-terrestrial overlords of the Sumerian
people until 3,000 years ago.
Despite the fact that Sitchin may have fabricated
his translations, he is not the only one who
believes that ancient aliens once lived amongst
the people of Earth, providing tools to build
contemporary style civilizations.
Mainstream archeology has yet to offer an
explanation of how the Sumerian culture seemed
to spring forth out of obscurity, fully formed
and complete with writing, financial systems,
law, building techniques and many other features
of advanced civilization.
The fields of ufology and forbidden archeology
are replete with claims and examples of advanced
beings assisting people in ancient times.
But some intrepid researchers, like Graham
Hancock, claim that before the diluvian period
of approximately 11,000 years ago, there were
many very advanced societies, which possessed
knowledge modern humans are only now beginning
to rediscover.
The pyramids of Egypt - despite allegedly
being built by craftsman using copper-age
tools - cannot be reproduced with all the
splendor of modern technology.
Furthermore, the little-recognized site of
Gobekli Tepe was determined to be at least
10,000 years old, and probably much older,
using standard dating techniques.
And there are still other megalithic sites
found throughout the world that form a growing
body of evidence to suggest current views
of human history are woefully inaccurate.
If Sitchin's debunkers are to be believed,
then it suggests that someone in the know
supplied him with information some 20 years
before discoveries of antediluvian sites were
unearthed.
Perhaps those who hidden forces that possess
knowledge of humanity's true origins are trying
to sow seeds of truth through agents like
Sitchin in an effort to one day unveil a more
authentic narrative of history.
If so, it would mean the currently held views
of people on Earth are nothing more than a
fabrication made to service a hidden agenda.
As a final note, several insiders and whistleblowers
claim that the human race is much older than
what academics have suggested. They say that
there have been many floods or cataclysms
and conflagrations that have ravaged the surface
of the Earth.
Those cultures that possessed advanced technology
and knowledge are said to have taken refuge
below the Earth, and remained there waiting
for the surface to stabilize after catastrophes.
In one such example, a group of humans closely
related to people living on the surface, claims
to have built a long-lasting civilization
in deep caverns below the earth's crust.
One whistleblower claims to have met these
beings, which he calls the Anshar that claim
to have watched over humanity for over 12
to 18 million years - an unbelievable assertion
for many.
While these theories remain unsubstantiated,
the fact that geneticists have proven the
human race's current lineage can be traced
back at least 240,000 years suggest that indeed
modern man could have seen the rise of many
different advanced civilizations.
Consider how much technological advancement
has occurred in the past 1000 years alone,
and the supposition of ancient cultures taking
refuge from periodic cataclysms seems more
plausible.
For now, the Iraqi minister's claims are viewed
by many as wildly unsupportable.
But for some who are brave enough to question
the status quo, a great mystery has yet to
be solved, one that could in the future change
the way humanity
