Basra

Basra, also written Basrah (Arabic: البصرة‎; BGN: Al Başrah), is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab river between Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of 1.5 million of 2012. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is handled at the port of Umm Qasr.

The city is part of the historic location of Sumer, one of the ports from which Sinbad the Sailor journeyed, and a proposed location of the Garden of Eden. It played an important role in early Islamic history and was built in 636 AD or 14 AH. It is Iraq's second largest and most populous city after Baghdad (Mosul has an uncertain population under ISIS occupation). Basra is consistently one of the hottest cities in Iraq, with summer temperatures regularly exceeding 50 °C (122 °F).

Etymology

The city was called by many names throughout its history, Basrah being the most common. In Arabic the word basrah means 'the overwatcher', which might have been an allusion to the city's origin as an Arab military base against the Sassanids. Some sources claim that the name is derived from the Persian word Bas-rah, which means "where many paths meet". Others have argued that the name is derived from the Aramaic word basratha, meaning 'place of huts' or 'settlement'.