Iraq, Country in Middle East, Asia.
Iraq is a country in Western Asia that stretches between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, encompassing desert areas, fertile plains, and marshlands in the south. The landscape ranges from dry plateaus in the west to restored wetlands near the Gulf coast.
The territory formed ancient Mesopotamia, where Sumerian settlers in the fourth millennium before Christ developed cuneiform writing and founded the first cities. Later the empires of Akkad, Babylon, and Assyria rose here, before Arab conquerors in the seventh century brought the region under Islamic rule.
The name comes from an Arabic word meaning fertile lowland, referring to the ancient river valley between the Euphrates and Tigris. Visitors today can walk among ruins where cuneiform tablets and remains of early city-states document the beginning of written culture.
Major cities connect through road networks, and Baghdad International Airport serves travelers from abroad. Before planning a journey, current security advisories and visa requirements should be checked.
Marsh Arabs in the south still live in traditional reed houses and move through the restored waterways in wooden boats called mashufs. This way of life reaches back thousands of years and shows how people adapted to the changing water levels of the wetlands.
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