POVERTY: Iraq: ancient wells running dry

Iraq's trickle of hope

An ancient system of wells and tunnels could help refresh a parched nation. Sebastian Meyer Last Modified: 24 Mar 2013 13:48

No-one knows exactly when they were built, but the ancient labyrinths of underground canals known as karez have helped keep water flowing through Iraq's most arid lands for much of the past 1,000 years. Despite many drying up in recent years, a project to rehabilitate these tunnels has lent a lifeline to many of the country's most isolated villages. Read more about karez systems here: Ancient aqueducts offer Iraq a trickle of hope

View As Slideshow >> Sebastian Meyer/Al Jazeera The opening to a karez shaft in Shekh Mamudian in Iraqi Kurdistan. UNESCO has hired two Iranians to repair ancient underground aqueducts in the region. Sebastian Meyer/Al Jazeera Amir Heidary, an Iranian engineer who has been hired by UNESCO to repair karez, climbs down a karez shaft in Iraqi Kurdistan. More than 100,000 people in northern Iraq have abandoned their homes since 2005 because of severe water shortages. Sebastian Meyer/Al Jazeera Mostafa Eghbali, an Iranian karez master, repairs a karez in Iraqi Kurdistan. Drought and excessive well pumping have drawn down aquifer levels in the region, causing a dramatic decline of water flow in ancient underground aqueducts, known in Iraq as karez (or qanat), upon which hundreds of communities depend. Sebastian Meyer/Al Jazeera Amir Heidary, an Iranian engineer who has been hired by UNESCO to repair Iraqi karez, climbs up a karez shaft in Iraqi Kurdistan. Sebastian Meyer/Al Jazeera Mostafa Eghbali, an Iranian karez master, repairs a karez in Iraqi Kurdistan. Sebastian Meyer/Al Jazeera A local villager sews grain in the Iraqi Kurdish village of Shekh Mamudian, whose karez is being repaired by UNESCO. Sebastian Meyer/Al Jazeera An elderly woman fills up a jug from the karez in the Kurdish Iraqi village of Kunaflusa. Sebastian Meyer/Al Jazeera The kerez in Kunaflusa flows to this small pool - a resource on which the entire village relies. Sebastian Meyer/Al Jazeera A boy loads up a donkey with water containers in the village of Kunaflusa in Iraqi Kurdistan. The village relies on a trickle of water from an ancient subterranean canal system. Sebastian Meyer/Al Jazeera The karez here in Kunaflusa is drying up, making life difficult for farmers, their livestock and working animals. Sebastian Meyer/Al Jazeera Village boys warm themselves by a fire in the Kurdish Iraqi village of Kunaflusa. Sebastian Meyer/Al Jazeera The karez in the Kurdish Iraqi village of Kunaflusa is drying up, leading residents to abandon the settlement. Sebastian Meyer/Al Jazeera Animals return in the evening to the Kurdish Iraqi village of Kunaflusa. "If the karez runs dry, we will be forced to leave the village," said village elder Fadel Abdullah Salah. Sebastian Meyer/Al Jazeera Night falls on Kunaflusa. In 1984, there were some 200 homes here - now, just 13 remain occupied. But officials hope that refurbishment of their water system will rejuvenate the village.