we saw flat, arid ground. . . . The landscape, which was mostly
desert, would have patches of green that a gardener attended to
with daily irrigation. [I could see] alfalfa, onions, grasses, a
celery-tasting herb called crufus, and parsley, as well as palm
trees bearing dates.”
The alluvial plain makes up about one-third of Iraq. The entire
plain is flat with a low elevation, dropping from 80 feet above sea
I
RAQ
24
Located along the Iraq-Iran border, the Shatt al Arab has been a source of
frequent conflict between the two countries.




