A man sits on a wooden narrow canoe in the waterways of the Chibayesh marshland in Iraq's southern Ahwar area of Dhi Qar on January 22, 2021. The Mesopotamian Marshes are located in southern Iraq, in the basin of the two mythical rivers of the Middle East: the Euphrates and the Tigris. The region is considered one of the cradles of civilization and, according to legend, even hosted the Gardens of Eden. The Marsh Arabs, also called Maadans, are an ancient community. It is estimated that they have occupied the marshes for almost 5,000 years. Between 1991 and 2003, the former dictator Saddam Hussein completely dried up the area because he believed it harbored his opponents. When he fell, the Maadans returned and tore down the dikes and dams he had built. The marshes have then almost returned to their original state. But in recent years, global warming and dams built upstream of the two rivers in Turkey have once again put the marshes in danger. Photo by Aline Deschamps/Middle East Images/ABACAPRESS.COM