Al-Qurna

Al-Qurna is where the Tigris and the Euphrates come together to form the Shatt al-Arab, and the confluence has attracted the identification of this area with the garden of Eden for a very long time. On the bank stands a small walled enclosure with an old tree, presented by local tradition as the Tree of Adam or the Tree of Knowledge; the tree that stands there now is not ancient and has been replaced more than once, which the site does not dwell on. The confluence itself is the substance of the visit: two great rivers, each with thousands of kilometres behind them, arriving at the same point. A guesthouse and a small park sit alongside. The town is otherwise modest and the stop is short.

History

Local folklore holds the town to be the site of the Garden of Eden and of a city built by Seleucus I Nicator, and the old tree shown here as the Tree of Knowledge has died and been replaced. In 1855 local tribes attacked and sank a convoy carrying 240 cases of antiquities from the excavations at Khorsabad, Kuyunjik and Babylon, a loss known as the Qurnah Disaster (Wikipedia, Al-Qurnah).

The main sights

• The confluence - the two rivers joining at the town.
• Adam's Tree - the enclosed tree of local tradition on the bank.
• The riverside park - the small public space at the meeting point.
• River traffic - boats working the water below the junction.

When to go

November to March; summers here are extreme. Mornings and late afternoon are best. The stop takes an hour or two on the road between Basra and the north.

Things to know

The tree is not ancient and has been replaced; treating it as a relic misreads the site. There is little else to see and the town is plain. Facilities are minimal. Heat and humidity outside winter are severe.

Nearby

Basra lies south; the southern marshes are west.

Key facts