Mesopotamian Marsh Grasses

 For the next few days I'll be posting photos taken in the area of the Mesopotamian Marshes. From the MIR brochure: "The plains where the Euphrates and Tigris meet to form the Shatt al Arab are home to extensive wetlands, largely covered by reeds, cattails, and papyrus. The area was traditionally home to the Marsh Arabs, a people thought to be descendants of the original Sumerian inhabitants of the region. Their culture was based on rice farming, water buffalos, and fishing. Both the marshes and their people suffered terribly under Saddam Hussein. He drained the marshes for agriculture and oil exploration, and also to punish the largely Shia Marsh Arabs. Over 90% of the original marshes was lost. Since 2003 multilateral efforts have helped to restore much of this territory, and Marsh arab refugees have returned home."