IRAQ Eliah EnglishMr. Sparks8A

Where Iraq is located

• Is rated in the world as the 58th biggest country.

• Iraq is located in Southwest Asia, nearly a landlocked country, Iraq is situated at the northern tip of the Arabian Gulf. Its coastline along the gulf is only 30 km long.

• Its neighboring countries are Turkey on the north; Iran on the east; Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the Persian Gulf on the south; and on the west by Jordan and Syria.

Geographic Features of Iraq• Surrounded by the north

western part of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern side of Syrian Desert and a large section of earstwhile Mesopotamia.

• 30km of coast line on the Persian Gulf

• Much of Iraqi territory is desert or wasteland, especially in the southwest and central provinces along the borders with Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

• The mountains in the northeast are an extension of the alpine system that runs eastward from the Balkans into southern Turkey, northern Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan, finishing in the Himalayas.

• The Tigris and Euphrates river run through Iraq

Climate of Iraq

The average temperatures in Iraq ranges from higher than 48 degree C (120 Fahrenheit) in July and August to below freezing in January. A majority of the rainfall occurs from December through April and is more abundant in the mountainous region and may reach 100 centimeters a year in some places.

Environment of Iraq• It is said that the Tigris and

Euphrates rivers are essentially open sewers.

• Industrial waste, hospital waste, fertilizer run-off from farming, as well as oil spills plague the two rivers that define the Mesopotamia region and which provide much of the irrigation and drinking water.

• The natural environment of Iraq has been devastated by three wars since 1980, and decades of neglect and mismanagement under the Saddam Hussein regime (1979-2003).

• Many of those industries were devoted to producing military material, and have been bombed and looted, leaving the country dotted with highly toxic industrial zones. Other contaminated sites belong to the oil and metal industries.

Global Awareness

Protecting the environment and improving water quality and sanitation are crucial to bettering health conditions and hastening development in Iraq. Work is underway on six large sewage treatment plants, so that waste is no longer pumped directly into the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Projects underway will improve access to clean water for 14.5 million Iraqis.

History of Iraq

The birth of Mesopotamia

Becomes British mandate

King Faisal Independence

Saddam Hussein come to rule

Saddam Hussein’s death sentence

Saddam Hussein’s death

A new start for Iraq

c. 3500 BCE 1920 1921 1932

1979-2003

November 2006

December 2006 May 2006

Known as Mesopotamia, the world's first civilization developed in Sumer, a region now in southeastern Iraq.

Iraq comes under British mandate after the fall of the Ottoman empire in 1918.

Faisal 1 becomes king of Iraq (Aug.23)

Iraq achieves independence from Britain(Oct. 3).

Saddam Hussein seized power in 1997.The UK and US supported Saddam because he helped them fight a nabjoring country called Iran.

Saddam was sentenced to death on 5 November 2006. He appealed against the decision but he lost the appeal.

Saddam Hussein was killed by hanging on 30 December, 2006, in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

The people who make up the government - called the cabinet - were finally approved in May 2006 after a lot of disagreements. The prime minister is called Nouri Maliki.

Customs and Traditions

• Iraq is predominantly a Sunni Muslim county and therefore celebrates all Muslim holidays, for example Eid and Ramadan.

• Iraqis are very hospitable people.

Government of IraqWho was Saddam Hussein? • He was president of Iraq from 1979 to

2003. • He tortured and killed lots of his enemies

and persecuted some ethnic groups. • He also used chemical weapons and

started wars against two other countries in the region - Kuwait and Iran. Saddam was sentenced to death on 5 November 2006. He appealed against the decision but he lost the appeal.

• Saddam Hussein was killed by hanging on 30 December, 2006, in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

• When Saddam was removed from power the US took temporary charge of Iraq. In June 2004, the US gave up control, instead choosing a prime minister and president to take charge of a temporary government.

• The Iraqi people finally got to choose their own politicians in December 2005, voting for the people they wanted to be in charge for the next four years.

• The people who make up the government - called the cabinet - were finally approved in May 2006 after a lot of disagreements.

• The prime minister is called Nouri Maliki.

Nouri Maliki

Saddam Hussein

Economy of Iraq

• Iraq has the world’s second-largest known oil reserves.

Other industries include: Construction, Mining and

Manufacturing. Irrigation from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers supports Iraq's farming sector. Chief crops include barley, dates and other fruit, cotton, rice, vegetables and wheat.

Global Awareness Economy

• Iraq’s economy has suffered recently because before the war with Iran, Iraq was the worlds second- largest oil exporter. That war and the Persian Gulf War damaged Iraq’s oil industry. Furthermore, the UN places and embargo, or limit on trade, on Iraq. Today, Iraq exports mush less oil than it did in the 1980’s.

• Saddam Hussein’s rule and the war also made Iraq's economy suffered. However Iraq is now pumping oil again.

Tourism in Iraq• Although Iraq has a very interesting

and diverse history the current political problems and safety issues in Iraq mean that no tourist want to

travel there.

Bibliography

"The Iraq Crisis - An Overview." The Iraq Crisis . 2003. <http://www.mideastweb.org/iraq.htm>.

"Geography of Iraq." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 3 Jan. 2008. Wikipedia®. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Iraq>.

"Iraq." The World Factbook. 13 Dec. 2007. CIA. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/iz.html>.

"Who was Saddam Hussein?." newsround. 9 Sept. 2007. cbbc. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_3200000/newsid_3201800/3201860.stm>.

Brunner, Borgna. "Iraq Timeline." 9 Sept. 2007. Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. <http://www.infoplease.com/spot/iraqtimeline2.html>.

Leahy, Stephen. "IRAQ: Environmental Nightmare Drags On." 7 Jan. 2008. IPS. <http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37031>.