Al-Qatr

Al-Qatr takes its name from a branch of the Tigris in the marshlands of southern Iraq. In medieval accounts its waterways led through the region of al-Bataih, where shifting channels and reed beds spread across the low plain. Boats connected settlements along these waters, while fish and birds inhabited the marshes. The course of the Tigris changed over time, and waterways that once carried traffic between Wasit and Basra did not always retain the same importance.