Drained time and again since the 1950s and then later in the 1990s under the rule of Saddam Hussein, the wetland areas in Southern Iraq have no doubt stood the test of time.
Here are 6 things you should definitely know about this amazing wetland:
1. Marsh Arabs are the primary inhabitants of the wetland area
The Marsh Arabs are descendants of ancient Sumerians, with a civilization dating back 5,000 years. Living in secluded villages of reed houses throughout the marshes, the number of Marsh Arabs has decreased since the 1950s, when there was an estimated 500,000. During Hussein's reprisal, 80,000 to 120,000 fled to Iran.
2. Historically, the marshlands were considered the largest wetland ecosystem of Western Eurasia
3. The marshes are located in what used to be called "Mesopotamia," which is now occupied by modern Iraq, eastern Syria, south-eastern Turkey and southwest Iran
4. The marshes covered 9,000 square kilometers in the 1970s. In 2002 the area had shrunk to 760 sq km, however it regained 40 percent of the original area by 2004.
Iraq aims to recover a total of 6,000 sq km, according to Reuters .
5. The marshlands are home to 40 species of birds and several species of fish
The wetland was once home to millions of birds and the stopover for millions of other migratory birds including flamingos, pelicans and herons as they traveled from Siberia to Africa.
6. The Battle of the Marshes was a part of the Iran–Iraq war
