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Tour in the South
Natural Sites and Outdoor Places
 

  • The great marshes of Mesopotamia (Chebayish): The unique world of the marshes, where nature seems to preserve its virgin aspect. Miles and miles of water, with an endless variety of birs and fish, of plants and reeds and bulrushes, dotted as far as the eye can see with huts, each a little island unto itself, with slender mash-hoofs shuttling back and forth the reeds and flowers. This vast expanse of water is shared by most southern governorates, Basrah, Misan, Thi qar, and Wasit. Old Arabic books suggest that marshes were aftermath of devastating flood which took place around A.D 620, but archaeological indications suggest that they were formed long before Sumerian times, when the Arabian gulf waters began to recede southwards, leaving behind all those marshes alongside the Tigris and Euphrates. The best months for taking trips in the marshes are during hunting season (October to March). The weather becomes a hunter’s paradise. For further information on these marshes please visit ( www.arabhunter.com). Fish, however, are always plentiful and the local inhabitants catch them with nets or spear them with a five-pronged “fala”, peculiar to the area. People in the marshes live in huts built from reeds and reed-matting, with attractive designs that go back to ancient times. They look like hundreds of islands clusterd together into small town-ships. Most prominent among them is “Chebayish”, on the left bank of the Euphrates. Each ‘island” is in fact a man-made mixture of earth and papyrus pressed hard (to form a base of a hut) and called “chebasheh”. The watery “streets” are piled by boats of different kinds and sizes, the most popular being the mash-hoof, which is made frame reeds and bitumen. A delightful scene is a marsh wedding, when the bride is carried in a lovely “regatta” made up of her own mash-hoof and those of her party, all loud with men’s lilting songs and women’s joyous cries. A number of tourist cabins in Chibayish had been built in recent years. To get to the marshes there are two ways: 1. by car from Nasiriya to Chibayish ( a distance of about 100 kms), and thence by boat to tour the place; 2. by car from Basrah to Qurna ( a distance of 74 kms) , and thence by motor-boat to the marshes, or by car again for another 45 kms.

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  • Adam’s tree – Qurna. As legend have it, is the place where the Garden of Eden was. There is an old tree there still called Adam’s Tree. 74 kms to the north of Basrah, it rises at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates into one very wide river, ‘SHAT AL ARAB”, amidst extensive fields and palm groves.
     

  • Razaza Lake. On the way to Ukhaidher, some 18 kms, from Kerbala, is Razzazeh lake, 60 x 30 kms. In recent years this beautiful large lake has been drawing lovers of swimming, water sports and fishing in great numbers. The Governorate of Kerbala has put up in the region many tourist facilities, afforested and planted extensive area, and made arrangements to have the place supplied with drinking water and electricity.
     

  • Sawa Lake. Located near Samawa, in Al muthanna governorate, Lake Sawa is famous for its natural beauty. A nearby rest house and restaurant cater for visitors to the lake.
     

  • Shat al Arab: river trips on Shatt al arab are very easy to arrange by simply hiring a motor-boat from the Corniche in Ashar. Here the visitor will find endless number of “casinos” all along the river where one can have a perfect view of the ships and liners sailing in and out, of the tall palm trees that line the horizon, the buildings of the University of Basrah glowing in the distance.

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