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Shafaq News
3 days ago
- General
- Shafaq News
Iraqi craftsman revives ancient waterwheel tradition in Al-Anbar
Shafaq News - Ramadi In the western Iraqi town of Hit, craftsman Sirwan al-Kurdi is working to revive a centuries-old irrigation tradition once central to life across Al-Anbar: the wooden waterwheels known locally as na'oura. Born near the eastern rotating waterwheels of Hit, al-Kurdi spent his early years in a home just steps away from the river. As a child, he accompanied his mother to fetch water and closely observed the waterwheels lifting water effortlessly, operating without human intervention unless repair was needed. 'The melancholic creaking of the na'oura stirred the soul,' he recounted. 'We called it the na'oura symphony. In summer, families slept on rooftops while mothers sang. The wheel's rhythm would blend with their voices, and children would drift off peacefully. It felt like a lullaby for life itself.' That enduring presence ended abruptly on May 12, 1967, when a devastating flood swept down the Euphrates, inundating farmland and submerging the wheels from the Syrian border to Hit. 'At six years old, I watched farmers break down in tears as their na'oura collapsed,' al-Kurdi reflected. 'They stood helpless as their lifeline was destroyed.' While some structures were rebuilt, the traditional machines began vanishing by the mid-1970s following the introduction of electric pumps. Al-Kurdi, however, remained committed to their preservation. Over the years, he compiled knowledge from carpenters and veteran wheel-makers, determined to one day restore the heritage he had seen nearly disappear. That ambition began to materialize in 2019 when authorities approved the rehabilitation of four na'oura in Turba village, part of Hit district. Al-Kurdi played a lead role in the project under the guidance of Malik Subti al-Husseini, one of the region's foremost traditional wheel-makers. A second phase of the project followed in 2021. Alongside this fieldwork, al-Kurdi began crafting scaled models of traditional irrigation systems and ancient water-lifting devices. His first miniature—a gypsum-and-stone replica—was completed in 2010 and displayed at the Ahmad Aftan Martyrs Museum. Additional works followed, including a Sumerian dalia, a water mill, an animal-powered gear system, and wind- and water-driven wheels. All are now housed in his private museum. 'I wanted to release these dormant ideas from my mind and give them physical form,' he explained. 'The museum turns history into something visible and tangible for future generations. It serves as the voice of these ancient tools and the living memory of Mesopotamia's engineering legacy.' Despite his efforts, support has remained scarce. The initiative has relied entirely on personal funding, and according to al-Kurdi, the materials used in construction—mulberry wood, palm fronds, ropes made from natural fibers, and ceramic jugs (al-qawq)—have remained unchanged for centuries. Even after UNESCO added the na'oura craft to its Heritage of Water list, recognition remained largely symbolic. 'The only acknowledgment we received was a printed letter of thanks worth no more than 250 Iraqi dinars (19 cents),' he remarked. 'Craftsmanship alone is not enough,' he emphasized, stressing that success also depends on careful planning, a supportive environment, and strong emotional and familial backing. Without these elements, the entire body of work becomes vulnerable to extinction after the artisan is gone. He closed with a reflection from the 11th-century philosopher al-Ghazali, expressing the fragility of unshared craftsmanship in the absence of support and continuity, 'I spun them a fine thread, but found no weaver for my yarn—so I broke my spindle.'
Time of India
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Water ways
Bachi Karkaria's Erratica and its cheeky sign-off character, Alec Smart, have had a growing league of followers since 1994 when the column began in the Metropolis on Saturday. It now appears on the Edit Page of the Times of India, every Thursday. It takes a sly dig at whatever has inflated political/celebrity egos, and got public knickers in a twist that week. It makes you chuckle, think and marvel at the elasticity of the English language. It is a shooting-from-the-lip advice column to the lovelorn and otherwise torn, telling them to stop cribbing and start living -- all in her her branded pithy, witty style. LESS ... MORE An exhibition to Thirst after Our 2018 TOI litfest and my recent volume for the tricentenary of Mumbai's mystical Parsi well were both titled Waternamah. This week I again immersed myself in the 'story of water'. 'Thirst' is the Wellcome Collection's latest London exhibition. Spread over Aridity, Rain, Glaciers, Surface Water and Ground Water, its historical artefacts, present-day videos and future scenarios show that freshwater is at the centre of a crisis that goes way beyond climate – indeed way back into antiquity. If WWIII was predicted to be over water, the oldest exhibit features the first recorded such war – a tablet on Sumerian epic, 'Gilgamesh and Aga' (composed around 2000 BC). King Aga enslaves the subjects of King Gilgamesh of Uruk to dig wells for his own city and, if refused, threatens to cut off Uruk's supply upstream on the Euphrates. Rivers have continued to be politicised by those who have the 'upper' hand. Unsurprisingly. Over 70 per cent of the earth's surface may be water but only three percent is fresh; two-thirds of it is locked in ice caps; and our cavalier disregard is perilously depleting what's available. Thirst isn't just physical. The text accompanying the first exhibit, Jeebesh Bagchi, Monica Narula and Shuddhabrata Sengupta/ Raqs Media Collective, tells us 'Across South Asian philosophy, the word is associated with craving, aspiration, longing and desire.' The exhibition keeps presenting their darker manifestation, shared loss, but also human resilience. All three coalesce in Gideon Mendel's wall-wide, ominously silent video, Deluge 2007-2024, looping images of people from five countries across continents struggling through waist-high waters. We see how nature strikes back, punishing human hubris in assuming divine rights to all Earth's resources. But nature sometimes benignly also gives back. We read how 'The Sinai peninsula saw unusual sustained rainfall during the pandemic after decades-long drought. Local wormwood, Artemisia Judaica flourished, and was found to treat the symptoms of the Covid variant, Omicron.' The same space showed how artist and wildcrafter Lofa Aziz introduced biomimicry, ethnobotany and citizen science to Bedouin youth who already had deep generational knowledge of their land, giving them new agency in preserving natural heritage. Our own efforts to save the Ganga could take heart from the 'sacred activism' ritual at the source of Beirut River last year. Individual fragile threads were braided into a strong 'prayer belt', symbolising the power-infused connection between individuals, communities and nature. Dare one hope that our own fragile Ganga-Jamuna culture could be thus revived? Indeed, 'Thirst' resonated with me in so many ways. The Raqs trio presenting third-century stepwells of Rajasthan and Delhi, 'their watermarks inscribing a history of thirst …carrying a memory of each step taken in search of freshwater'. Didn't it also etch the feminization of poverty? Like rivers flowing into a common ocean, we are bound in the global commonality of urban discord over water. In my first years in Bombay, in TOI's evening paper, 'Fight at Common Tap' vied only with 'Pydhonie Panwalla Stabs Paramour'. It's not very different today, even in parts where exorbitant tankers replace fractious faucet. Why, only India? The very day I visited 'Thirst', a London tabloid Phew!ed over the city being spared prolonged water shut-offs in 2027 thanks to last-minute funds for a reservoir. Not just with omnipresent monsoon waterlogging. Every coastal city can connect with the Malaysian fisherfolk despairing over catch-rich mangroves dying from the pollutants spewed by a nearby Chinese factory. Move over, mosquitoes. Humans are the vectors of water-related killers jeopardising not only our own existence but all life on the planet. 'Thirst' advises a strong gulp of restraint. *** Alec Smart said: 'Preamble says 'sovereign, socialist, secular'. How about 'sacrosanct'?' Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
Iraqi News
7 days ago
- Business
- Iraqi News
Iraq's tourism sector booms, but neglect of historical sites leaves potential untapped
Baghdad ( – Iraq's tourism sector is experiencing a remarkable boom, with official statistics for 2023 revealing dramatic growth in hotels, revenue, and visitor numbers. However, a closer look at the data shows this growth is heavily concentrated in specific regions, while the nation's world-renowned historical sites—key to a truly diversified and sustainable tourism industry—remain significantly underdeveloped. According to a report from Iraq's statistics authority, the country was home to over 2,418 hotels in 2023, representing an 86% increase over the past decade. Hotel revenues soared to approximately 695 billion Iraqi dinars, a massive 166% increase compared to 2015. This growth was driven by a surge in visitors. In 2023, Iraqi hotels hosted 9.5 million guests. Notably, 28% of these—or about 2.7 million visitors—were foreigners, underscoring Iraq's growing appeal. The data reveals that the current tourism success is concentrated in two main areas: the Kurdistan Region and the country's holy cities. The governorate of Sulaymaniyah attracted the most visitors overall (over 29% of the total), followed by Karbala (20%) and Erbil (18%). For international visitors, religious tourism is the primary draw. The holy cities of Najaf and Karbala together accounted for 65% of all foreign guest stays, cementing their status as top destinations in the Islamic world. In stark contrast to this boom, the report highlights a profound weakness in historical tourism. Governorates that are home to some of humanity's most important ancient sites remain among the least visited and least developed. Babil province, the site of ancient Babylon, had only six hotels operating in 2023. Similarly, Dhi Qar province, home to the ancient Sumerian capital of Ur, had just 11 hotels. The analysis points to a near 'complete absence of tourist facilities' in these historically priceless regions, leaving their vast potential untapped. Experts argue that a fully realized tourism sector is the most viable and sustainable alternative to Iraq's oil-dependent economy. It has proven its resilience by growing steadily despite past security challenges and holds the potential to create tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs. However, for Iraq to transform its current success into a diversified national industry, a strategic shift is required. Greater attention and investment must be directed towards developing the infrastructure around its ancient Mesopotamian heritage. Only by bridging the gap between its booming religious tourism and its neglected historical sites can Iraq unlock its full potential as a world-class tourism destination.
Yomiuri Shimbun
09-07-2025
- Science
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Ancient DNA Shows Genetic Link between Egypt, Mesopotamia
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ancient DNA has revealed a genetic link between the cultures of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, according to research published on July 2 in the journal Nature. Researchers sequenced whole genomes from the teeth of a remarkably well-preserved skeleton found in a sealed funeral pot in an Egyptian tomb site dating to between roughly 4,500 and 4,800 years of the genome showed links to North Africa and the region around Egypt. But a fifth of the genome showed links to the area in the Middle East between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, known as the Fertile Crescent, where Mesopotamian civilization flourished. 'The finding is highly significant' because it 'is the first direct evidence of what has been hinted at' in prior work, said Daniel Antoine, curator of Egypt and Sudan at the British Museum. Earlier archeological evidence has shown trade links between Egypt and Mesopotamia, as well as similarities in pottery-making techniques and pictorial writing systems. While resemblances in dental structures suggested possible ancestral links, the new study clarifies the genetic ties. The Nile River is 'likely to have acted as an ancient superhighway, facilitating the movement of not only cultures and ideas, but people,' said Antoine, who was not involved in the study. The skeleton was found in an Egyptian tomb complex at the archaeological site of Nuwayrat, inside a chamber carved out from a rocky hillside. An analysis of wear and tear on the skeleton — and the presence of arthritis in specific joints — indicates the man was likely in his 60s and may have worked as a potter, said coauthor and bioarchaeologist Joel Irish of Liverpool John Moores University. The man lived just before or near the start of ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom, when Upper and Lower Egypt were unified as one state, leading to a period of relative political stability and cultural innovation — including the construction of the Giza pyramids. 'This is the time that centralized power allowed the formation of ancient Egypt as we know it,' said coauthor Linus Girdland-Flink, a paleogeneticist at the University of Aberdeen. At approximately the same time, Sumerian city-states took root in Mesopotamia and cuneiform emerged as a writing system. Researchers said analysis of other ancient DNA samples is needed to obtain a clearer picture of the extent and timing of movements between the two cultural centers.
NDTV
03-07-2025
- Science
- NDTV
Ancient DNA Shows Genetic Link Between Egypt And Mesopotamia
Washington: Ancient DNA has revealed a genetic link between the cultures of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, according to research published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Researchers sequenced whole genomes from the teeth of a remarkably well-preserved skeleton found in a sealed funeral pot in an Egyptian tomb site dating to between 4,495 and 4,880 years ago. Four-fifths of the genome showed links to North Africa and the region around Egypt. But a fifth of the genome showed links to the area in the Middle East between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, known as the Fertile Crescent, where Mesopotamian civilization flourished. "The finding is highly significant" because it "is the first direct evidence of what has been hinted at" in prior work," said Daniel Antoine, curator of Egypt and Sudan at the British Museum. Earlier archeological evidence has shown trade links between Egypt and Mesopotamia, as well as similarities in pottery-making techniques and pictorial writing systems. While resemblances in dental structures suggested possible ancestral links, the new study clarifies the genetic ties. The Nile River is "likely to have acted as an ancient superhighway, facilitating the movement of not only cultures and ideas, but people," said Antoine, who was not involved in the study. The skeleton was found in an Egyptian tomb complex at the archaeological site of Nuwayrat, inside a chamber carved out from a rocky hillside. An analysis of wear and tear on the skeleton - and the presence of arthritis in specific joints - indicates the man was likely in his 60s and may have worked as a potter, said co-author and bioarchaeologist Joel Irish of Liverpool John Moores University. The man lived just before or near the start of ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom, when Upper and Lower Egypt were unified as one state, leading to a period of relative political stability and cultural innovation - including the construction of the Giza pyramids. "This is the time that centralized power allowed the formation of ancient Egypt as we know it," said co-author Linus Girdland-Flink, a paleogeneticist at the University of Aberdeen. At approximately the same time, Sumerian city-states took root in Mesopotamia and cuneiform emerged as a writing system. Researchers said analysis of other ancient DNA samples is needed to obtain a clearer picture of the extent and timing of movements between the two cultural centers.
