Ahwar of Southern Iraq

I visited this mixed WHS in September 2024 covering Ur, Uruk (Warka) and the Ahwar Marshes. Like most of Iraq's archaeological sites, the wealth of artefacts found is much more than what is left to see in situ. However, this is perhaps the best group of archaeological sites in terms of authenticity and what's left to see. This applies much more to Uruk than to Ur, although the iconic reconstructed Ziggurat of Ur is a worthy sight. 

In Uruk, you literally feel you are trespassing in an archaeological dig, stepping on countless fragments of pottery, cuneiform mud bricks, glazed tiles and conical mosaics. The best time to visit is just before sunset, not only because it is burning hot here earlier, but mostly because all the building remains with glazed tiles and statues (mostly taken to the British Museum and to the Pergamon Museum in Berlin) light up in the afternoon sun. Among the best examples to be explored with a high-clearance car and a generous tip to the caretaker are the Inanna Temple, the Temple of Gareus, and the remains of a ziggurat. Uruk played a leading role in the early urbanization of Sumer in the mid-4th millennium BC, is nicknamed as the birthplace of writing, and possibly gave its name to modern Iraq. It is located east of the current bed of the Euphrates River, on an ancient, now-dried channel of the river. A whole room of artefacts (not to be missed!) has been dedicated to some …

This should have been split into two WHS: one for the sites of the Ancient Sumerian civilization, one for the “New” Marshes. ICOMOS and IUCN suggested to do so and saw OUV in both, but inscription was rushed through and now we’re stuck with a messy inscription and an unrecognizable site name. 

I will focus my review on the Marshes and not on the archaeological sites. These Marshes are the so-called “New Marshes”, which originated about 3,000 years ago when the original marshes near the Sumerian cities dried out and the coastline moved south-east. They have been recognized because of their bird life and the connection to the life of the Marsh Arabs, whose traditional lifestyle was immortalized in the book by Wilfred Thesiger. A visit was included in my tour, but I wondered beforehand whether we would end up at the core zone or an area especially designed for tourists. 

Already in the city of Nassiraya the Marshes are signposted with the globally known brown road signs. We drove for 1 hour and 15 minutes to a place where they’ve built a reception area with boats for tourists and a few reed houses. It is near the shiny-silver Martyrs Monument in Chabaish, where at the entrance they even sport a full WHS plaque indicating the Central Marshes component. So core zone it definitely was! The Martyrs Monument commemorates the struggle of the Marsh Arabs against Saddam Hussein, who took a particular dislike to them as they …

I visited this region of Iraq in the Fall of 2008. An opportunity arose for myself and some companions to visit the site of the ancient Sumerian city of Ur. I had seen pictures and read about the Ziggurat of Ur since I was a boy so I jumped at the chance. The greatest surprise was how extensive the ruins of the rest of the city are. We parked in the lot at the base of the Ziggurat and climbed up the steps to the top. From there the ruins reached out covering a vast area of the desert. Upon climbing down, we walked towards the rest of the ruins to explore but were stopped at the voice of a man calling to us from a distance. He approached and told us that the rest of the ruins were off-limits. We let him know that we meant no harm and were fascinated by the history of this ancient place. It was then that he introduced himself as Dhaif and explained that he was the caretaker of Ur. He said that his grandfather had been foreman of the workers during the archaeological excavations in 1922 and stayed on the site to take care of it after the British left. His father took over in the 1960's and he took over care of the place in the 1990's. He then offered to give us a tour of the entire place so, of course, we accepted. Over the next hour and a half …

Ur was once an important Sumerian city state near the mouth of the Euphrates river, at the coast with marshy surroundings and regular floods and adverse weather impacts like erosions.Ur was already occupied as early as 6500 BC during the Urbaid period, but had its peak during the Sumerian period about 3000 BC. Buildings were made out of mudbricks and mud plaster. The main temple, Ziggurat of Ur, was built during king Ur-Nammu reign about 2040 BC. His codes of law (Hammurabi) is the oldest existing deciphered law writing in the world, the original at the Louvre museum, but replicas in many places including the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad. On the basalt stele are 282 laws including the famous “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” rules. Ur is also mentioned four times in the Old Testament and in the Book of Genesis as the birthplace of Abraham 2000 BC.The site was first excavated 1853 by the British Museum and the British Vice Consul in Basra who also uncovered the Ziggurat (main temple dedicated to the Moon god Nanna)It was later on reconstructed, including its monumental staircase. However, the third level has collapsed, and its present height is 17 meters from the original of 26. Ur is surrounded by 2 ramparts constructed during Sumerian and Babylonian times. The closest city with infrastructure is Nasariyah, it has decent hotels and restaurants and at present no security problems. We have also visited Uruk where we could talk …