Nasiriyah

Nasiriyah is a city in Southern Iraq. It the closest major settlement to the prehistoric city of Ur.

Understand
Nasiriyah was founded in 1872 and became a major center of trade in Ottoman Iraq. The areas around the city is the ancestral home of many Mandaeans, an ethnoreligious group that were probably the first to practice baptism and are the last surviving Gnostics from antiquity. Today, only a few hundred families remain.

Get in
Nasiriyah has a station on the railway between Baghdad and Basra. Iraqi Republic Railways runs two overnight trains which both call here. There are also irregular trains to and from Karbala, especially during religious holidays.



See
There is a called The Ahwar of Southern Iraq: Refuge of Biodiversity and the Relict Landscape of the Mesopotamian Cities. "Ahwar" translates as "marshland" and the region is listed partly for the wetlands flora and fauna. However, the listing also includes the cities of Ur, Larsa and Eridu.

Do
The amusement park in Nasiriyah.

Go next
The ruins of the ancient cities of Ur and Larsa are located nearby.