CHAPTER 1 Introduction Iraq lies at the very heart of the Middle East like a triangular-shaped wedge between the countries of Saudi Arabia Syria and Iran It also shares much shorter borders with Kuwait to the southeast Jordan to the west and Turkey in the north Today’s Iraq was once known as the ancient land of Mesopotamia or land between the rivers of the Tigris and Euphrates The land’s fertile soils made it a natural site for some of the world’s earliest civilizations Sumerians PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY Area total 170,458 sq mi 437,072 sq km land 168,543 sq mi 432,162 sq km water 1,915 sq mi 4,910 sq km Highest point unnamed peak 11,844 ft 3,611 m local Kurdish name Cheekha Dar or black tent Lowest point Persian Gulf 0 ft 0 m Land boundaries total 2,263 mi 3,650 km border countries Iran 904 mi 1,458 km Jordan 112 mi 181 km Kuwait 149 mi 240 km Saudi Arabia 505 mi 814 km Syria 375 mi 605 km Turkey 218 mi 352 km Coastline 36 mi 58 km Source CIA World Factbook Akkadians Babylonians and Assyrians Underneath its soil lies Iraq’s richest resource oil Iraq now has the world’s third-largest proven conventional crude oil reserves Lowlands deserts and mountains Situated in central and southeastern Iraq the broad floodplains of the Tigris-Euphrates basin Many ancient cities grew up along the banks of the Euphrates River At nearly 1,736 mi 2,800 km long the river runs from Turkey to the Persian Gulf Much of its central section like here in Khan al-Baghdadi in the province of al-Anbar is lined with date palm groves
The Zagros Mountains in the northeastern region of Iraq form a natural geographic barrier between Iraq’s central plains and the Iranian plateau to the east Mostly situated in Iran the Zagros range is about 558 mi 900 km long and 2149 mi 40 km wide consists of vast deserts in the west and south including the western desert region called Wadiyah which is almost 1,640 ft 500 m above sea level make up about a third of the country Much of this land has rich soil that was once ideal for agriculture However it has been over-irrigated and some of it has been abandoned owing to its high salt content Although lowlands form much of the landscape of Iraq highlands rise to the north and northeast including the high elevations of the Kurdistan region The Anti-Taurus and Zagros mountains form the borders with Turkey and Iran respectively Between Iraq’s two great rivers in the north is an arid plateau in an upland region known as al-Jazirah or the island Here the Sinjar Mountains rise to a height of over 4,920 ft 1,500 m Forty percent of Iraq’s land area Two rivers Iraq’s two mighty rivers the Tigris and the Euphrates begin their journey farther north in Turkey and flow in a southeasterly direction along roughly parallel courses through the country until they meet at the southern Iraqi town of al-Qurnah The merged river called the Shatt al-Arab or stream of the Arabs continues south for the final 124 mi 200 km of its route to the coast The Shatt al-Arab passes the port of Basra where it forms part of the eastern boundary with Iran before finally emptying into the Persian Gulf With Kuwait to the west and Iran to the east Iraq’s coastline on the Persian Gulf is a short stretch of only 36 mi 58 km 7
IRAQ This chart shows the climate of Baghdad Situated in Iraq’s central plains the city has average daily temperatures of nearly 95ºF 35ºC in July and August Temperatures as high as 124ºF 51ºC have been recorded in the summer Temperature and rainfall in Baghdad 24-hour Average Temperature ºC 35 Rainfall mm 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 J FMAMJ J A S O N D Source www worldclimate com Climate Most of Iraq including the lowlands experiences long hot dry summers lasting from May to October although the weather can be more humid near the rivers Winters are short and mild with almost all rain falling between November and April Desert regions have blisteringly hot dry summers while the damper northeast of the country has shorter cooler summers Precipitation in the northeastern highlands can be in excess of 39 inches 1,000 mm during the year much of which falls during the winter as snow Heavy snows melting in spring can cause flooding farther south in central and southern Iraq Culture Iraq has a rich history of ancient civilizations stretching back over 7,000 years Today 97 percent of Iraq’s approximately 27 million people are Muslim The Sunni faith is dominant in the surrounding Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia Kuwait and Jordan but Shia Muslims form the majority in Iraq outnumbering Sunni Muslims by roughly two to one Despite religious and political differences Shia and Sunni Muslims are ethnically similar Both Shia and Sunni Muslims place great importance on their immediate family as well as more tribal links with their extended family The country’s major languages are Arabic and Kurdish About 25 million Kurds live in a mountainous region running across Syria Turkey Iran and Iraq Most of Iraq’s 6 million Kurds speak a dialect called Kurdi or Sorani which is the official form of Kurdish and similar to the modern Persian language of Farsi Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims They have retained their own distinctive cultural identity notably their music and dance 8
INTRODUCTION The Marsh Arabs live in southern Iraq Although their lifestyle has remained largely unchanged for thousands of years the Marsh Arabs culture was almost totally destroyed under Saddam Hussein ruled 1979 2003 A tiny number of Marsh Arabs still survive making reed boats and fishing Iraq has many other small ethnic groups including Christian Assyrians the seminomadic Muslim Turkmen of the north Turks and Armenians Urban centers Urban life began in the Middle East thousands of years ago as traders exchanged their goods in cities such as Babylon built in about 2000 BCE in what is now central Iraq Although Babylon no longer exists Iraq has many large cities and towns which are home to 70 percent of the population Baghdad on the Tigris River in central Iraq was founded in 762 CE by the caliph Mansur Baghdad is the capital of Iraq with a population of nearly 6 million Mosul is situated on the banks of the Tigris in northern Iraq Its population of around 2 million is mainly Kurdish with a large minority of Christian Arabs Basra in southeastern Iraq is the country’s major port Basra is a center of oil refining and its location on the Shatt al-Arab waterway is ideal for exporting oil Iraq shares its borders with six other countries Jordan and Syria are to the west with Saudi Arabia to the south Turkey to the north and Kuwait to the southeast Its longest boundary 904 mi 1,458 km is with Iran to the east TURKEY Tall Afar Mosul Irbil Kou Senjaq Al Sulaymaniyah Kirkuk Halabja SYRIA Tuz T i R g i v r i e s r E u p R i v h r a t e e r s Ramadi Baqubah Baghdad Ar Rutbah IRAQ Karbala JORDAN Al Habbariyah Al Hillah Najaf Key Capital city Cities over 1,000,000 people Cities over 100,000 people Cities under 100,000 people SAUDI ARABIA 0 0 miles 200 kilometres 200 Al Kut Al Hayy As Samawah Nasiriyah IRAN Al Amarah Basra KUWAIT Persian Gulf
