Until a few days ago this was Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's palace. Now a banner has been put up announcing the new residents at this choice square kilometer overlooking the Shatt al-Arab waterway: the 42nd Royal Marine Company.

The majestic buildings are linked by their own bridges crossing over the canals and leading to a lush garden.

Underneath the imposing mosaic domes, the handcarved wooden doors open up to stairways grand enough to belong to the world of fairy tales. Across the marble floors and through the marble columns lie ornate wash basins next to exquisite antique bathtubs.

Taking a siesta from "Operation Iraqi Freedom," the battle-hardy British troops are bemused at, but not above enjoying, the sheer ostentation of the palace.

"I wrote my girlfriend this morning to tell her I slept in the room that normally belongs to Saddam Hussein. After so many weeks in the desert, I'm not used to this kind of luxury. It's incredible," said Darren Williamson, one of more than 600 British marines who have taken temporary residence at the palace.

The room Williamson slept in is the best in the house. The two carved eagles on the door show for whom it was intended.

With hardwood floors and marble walls, the Saddam Suite has its own dome of colorful tiles and an imposing closed balcony, the vast crystal reflecting the Shatt al-Arab. The master bedroom is refreshingly cool, beating the muggy heat that suffocates Basra.

Inside Saddam's chambers lies a copy of the Koran, the Muslim holy book. This copy has a dedication to one of the daughters of Ali Hasan al-Majid, better known as "Chemical Ali," the president's cousin who engineered the gas attack that killed 5,000 Kurdish villagers in Halabja in 1988.

Assigned to defend southern Iraq against the US-led invasion, "Chemical Ali" was reported to have been killed in an air strike on Basra Saturday.

Majid had been in Basra before, ruthlessly crushing a Shiite Muslim-led revolt in the wake of the 1991 Gulf War. Such unrest is the reason why Saddam, security-paranoid even in better times, has stayed away from this place.

The palace is immaculately new, and vacant. The Iraqi president has never slept here -- and in all likelihood never will.

"The contrast with the poverty we went through is incredible," said Alex Grant, another marine.

"You've got to have no shame to live like this in the middle of a city as needy as Basra."

Hoping for souvenirs from what will likely be the tale to tell their grandchildren, a few of the young soldiers pulled out wood carvings from the doors or tiles from the mosaics.

The official version of the seizure of this palace is that there were no signs of life when the marines raided. Nonetheless, many of the marines speak of killing pro-Saddam militiamen that were guarding their leader's estate.

"There were two of them in front of the railings to the entrance. It was still night and we took them by surprise," said one soldier.

"There were more sleeping in a car and we killed around 12 of them," said another.

When they moved into the site, the marines carefully treaded into each building, each room and each corner, making sure each part was "cleaned" before heading on to the next.

"Some of the militiamen were dressed in civilian clothing, others were in military uniform. They ran through the gardens and hid in the buildings," a marine recalled.

"Some of them shot at us. We finished them. I don't know how many died, but surely dozens."

SPACE.WIRE