iraq marshlands named unesco world heritage site
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

A bright spot for a country

Iraq marshlands named UNESCO world heritage site

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice Iraq marshlands named UNESCO world heritage site

An Iraqi man gets off a boat in the Iraqi Marshlands
Baghdad - Arab Today

UNESCO has named Iraqi marshlands once ravaged by dictator Saddam Hussein as a World Heritage Site, a bright spot for a country where jihadists have repeatedly sought to wipe out history.

The area named "is made up of seven sites: three archaeological sites and four wetland marsh areas in southern Iraq," UNESCO said.

"The archaeological cities of Uruk and Ur and the Tell Eridu archaeological site form part of the remains of the Sumerian cities and settlements that developed in southern Mesopotamia between the 4th and the 3rd millennium BCE," it said.

"The Ahwar of Southern Iraq -- also known as the Iraqi Marshlands -- are unique, as one of the world's largest inland delta systems, in an extremely hot and arid environment," UNESCO said.

Iraq has been seeking World Heritage status for the marshes since 2003, and its government hailed the move.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi congratulated the Iraqi people on UNESCO's decision, and thanked "all those who contributed to this success".

Abadi also said that culture in the country will continue "despite the destruction and demolition of Iraqi heritage and antiquities by barbaric terrorist gangs".

He was referring to Islamic State group's destruction of artefacts at the Mosul museum and the ancient cities of Nimrud and Hatra, the latter of which is a World Heritage Site.

IS has sought to couch the destruction in religious terms, saying it was targeting idols, but that has not stopped it from selling artefacts to fund its operations.

The marshlands once stretched across some 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 square miles), but they were devastated after Saddam ordered them drained in the 1990s to stop them being used as hideouts by Shiite guerrillas opposed to his regime.

Many dams and canals ordered built by the dictator have now been demolished, allowing waters from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to flood back, fish and fowl to return and humans to settle once again.

But dams farther upriver in Syria and Turkey still limit the flow of water into the marshes, and high levels of salinity in water in the south has also been a problem, making it undrinkable for humans and animals and killing fish.

In addition to the newly named site in the south and Hatra, an ancient fortress city in present-day Nineveh province in the north, Iraq is home to three other UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The Arbil Citadel, where 19th-century facades still stand at a much older site, is located in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, while Samarra Archaeological City -- the site of the 9th-century capital of the Abbasid Caliphate -- lies north of Baghdad.

And Ashur, a city that dates to the 3rd millennium BCE and which was the first capital of the Assyrian Empire, is in the Sharqat area to the north of Samarra, where Iraqi forces have battled IS militants.

Source: AFP

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

iraq marshlands named unesco world heritage site iraq marshlands named unesco world heritage site

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

iraq marshlands named unesco world heritage site iraq marshlands named unesco world heritage site

 



GMT 16:17 2018 Thursday ,30 August

Five Saudi women pilots granted GACA licences

GMT 23:35 2017 Wednesday ,11 October

EUPOL COPPS appoints new EU head of the police mission

GMT 23:19 2017 Wednesday ,27 September

Iran big obstacle to regional peace

GMT 09:40 2017 Monday ,08 May

ADX launches New York roadshow

GMT 13:55 2011 Saturday ,18 June

American output picks up

GMT 09:23 2016 Thursday ,11 February

Paris, Frankfurt stocks markets dip more than 3%

GMT 13:44 2013 Sunday ,28 April

Egyptian information chief resigns

GMT 14:08 2012 Monday ,06 February

Spark tablet runs Linux

GMT 14:27 2017 Thursday ,24 August

Rising tennis stars in the US Open spotlight

GMT 03:03 2012 Friday ,27 April

10 unusual winter travel destinations

GMT 15:44 2012 Sunday ,02 December

Store sells solid gold tree

GMT 16:48 2017 Tuesday ,17 October

HRH Premier receives outgoing Iraqi ambassador
 
 Emirates Voice Facebook,emirates voice facebook  Emirates Voice Twitter,emirates voice twitter Emirates Voice Rss,emirates voice rss  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

emiratesvoieen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen
emiratesvoice emiratesvoice emiratesvoice
emiratesvoice
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice