Roots of Sumer · 12 / 12

The Ahwar (Mesopotamian Marshes)

Huwaizah, Central and Hammar marshes · Dhi Qar · Maysan · Basra

World Heritage · UNESCO 2016Living landscape

Roofing a reed mudhif, the marshes. Photo: Hassan Al-Jarrah, licence CC BY-SA 4.0, source.

Why it matters

The Ahwar matter because they are among the largest wetlands in the Middle East and preserve an environment in which the Sumerians lived thousands of years ago. UNESCO inscribed them in 2016, with Ur, Uruk and Eridu, as a mixed natural and cultural site of seven components: four marshes and three cities. They are an important stop for migratory birds and home to rare species. People there still build reed mudhifs and travel by mashoof. The marshes were drained in the 1990s to about a tenth of their size, and water returned to parts of them after 2003, so today they are a living heritage that needs protection.

In 2016 UNESCO inscribed them, together with Ur, Uruk and Eridu, as a mixed cultural and natural site named 'The Ahwar of Southern Iraq: Refuge of Biodiversity and the Relict Landscape of the Mesopotamian Cities'.

The property has seven components: four marshes and three Sumerian cities. Its people still live by reed and water, as their ancestors did.

Notable factThe reed mudhif that marsh people build today resembles the reed houses carved on Sumerian seals five thousand years ago.

Visitor guide

76km from Nasiriyah

91km from Shatra

Approximate straight-line distance; the road is longer (to the Central Marshes).

Best time: Roughly October to April, when the weather is mild. Summer is very hot and humid.

Practical tips:

Go out on the water only with local boatmen, wear a life jacket if one is offered, and respect people's homes and guesthouses.
Bring plenty of water, a hat and sun protection; the sun is strong on the water.
Do not throw rubbish in the water or disturb birds and fish; the marshes are a World Heritage site and a living environment that people depend on.

Getting there

The easiest for visitors are the Central Marshes, reached from Chibayish in Dhi Qar, where mashoof boat trips are available. The best time to visit is October to April.

Photos of the site

A water buffalo standing in the marsh water among the reeds — A water buffalo in the Chibayish Marshes. Photo: Alli Khalil, licence CC BY-SA 4.0, source.

A broad-horned water buffalo with a herder walking behind it in the Chibayish Marshes — A water buffalo and its herder in the Chibayish Marshes. Photo: Alli Khalil, licence CC BY-SA 4.0, source.

Water buffalo in a pen of reed and wood — A reed pen for water buffalo in the Marshes. Photo: Alli Khalil, licence CC BY-SA 4.0, source.

Geese swimming among the golden reeds of the Marshes — Reeds and geese in the Chibayish Marshes. Photo: Alli Khalil, licence CC BY-SA 4.0, source.

A reed mudhif with pillars and a woven roof — A reed mudhif in the Chibayish Marshes. Photo: Alli Khalil, licence CC BY-SA 4.0, source.

A mashoof on the calm marsh water amid the mist — Morning stillness in the Chibayish Marshes. Photo: Alli Khalil, licence CC BY-SA 4.0, source.

Two men in a mashoof among the green reeds of the Marshes — A mashoof among the reeds in the southern Marshes. Photo: Hassan Janali, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, licence Public domain, source.

A water buffalo swimming in front of green reeds — A water buffalo swimming in the marsh. Photo: Ahmedallebban, licence CC BY-SA 4.0, source.

Arch upon arch inside a Sumerian reed mudhif — Interior of the Sumerian mudhif built of reeds. Photo: حكمت العياشي, licence CC BY-SA 4.0, source.

A mudhif on the marsh shore at sunset, with a blazing sky — A marsh mudhif at dusk. Photo: (Ahmed Abdul Amiralem) احمد عبدالاميرلازم, licence CC BY-SA 4.0, source.

An old photograph of men in a boat on the river — Men in a boat on the river, Matson Collection (نحو 1932). Photo: Matson Collection (Library of Congress), licence Public domain, source.

Sources

Information last reviewed: November 2026. Dates are approximate.