Iraq artist works tosave boating tradition

People rowing traditional “meshhouf” boats in the Tigris river in Baghdad. — AFP

YOUNG Iraqis row a flotilla of traditional wooden boats down the Tigris river in Baghdad, celebrating an ancient nautical heritage in the now drought-stricken country.

Once a common sight across Iraq’s southern streams and marshlands, the elongated boats with tapered bows and sterns, known as meshhouf, have been around “since the time of the Sumerians”, said event organiser Rashad Salim.