Until 1991, Dream City, Iraq was a military base for Saddam Hussein’s troops. From the regional command centre they carried out murder campaigns on the Kurds in the Duhok region. Hundreds of Kurds were imprisoned and executed on the base, and no one was allowed near it. After 1991, when Kurdistan became a de facto autonomous region, the Kurdish Regional Government decided to dismantle all military bases and in their place erect something that all Kurds could enjoy. The barracks were demolished, the barbed wire removed, the ground dug over and trees planted. In the city of Sulaimaniya, the magnificent Azadi (freedom) park emerged on a former base; in Duhok the amusement park Dream City was built. This became the ultimate symbol of freedom and victory over Saddam Hussein.