Shatt al-Arab Corniche

The Shatt al-Arab is the waterway formed where the Tigris and Euphrates join, running about two hundred kilometres from Al-Qurna to the Gulf, and Basra sits on its western bank. The corniche is the city's promenade: a paved walk with palms, benches, statues of poets and cafés, busy in the evening when families come out and the heat drops, with cargo ships and small boats passing on the water. Date palms grew along this waterway in numbers that once made the region the world's leading date producer, and the groves are still there in places though much reduced. Salinity pushing up from the Gulf has become a serious problem for the water and the palms, which is a live issue in the city.

What you actually see

• The evening promenade - families, cafés and benches along the water.
• Shipping on the waterway - cargo vessels and small boats passing.
• Poets' statues - the monuments along the corniche.
• Date palm groves - the surviving plantations along the banks.

When to go

November to March; Basra summers are among the hottest anywhere and the corniche is unusable by day. Evenings are when the promenade works, at any time of year.

Honest expectations

Heat and humidity are extreme outside winter. Water quality in the Shatt al-Arab is poor and salinity is a serious local problem. Parts of the corniche are better maintained than others. Photography near port and military areas is restricted.

Nearby

The shanasheel quarter lies west; Al-Qurna is north.