Iraq's 'Pearl of the South' Lake Sawa dry due to water crisis

Tags: International News

Iraq's famous and prominent Lake Sawa has dried up for the first time in its centuries-old history.

• Locals believe that the lake has dried up due to mismanagement by local investors, neglect of the government and climate change.

• About Sawa Lake 

• It is a biodiversity-rich wetland located near the city of Samwa, south of Iraq's capital, Baghdad.

• Sawa Lake is mentioned in some old Islamic texts.

• It is said that the lake was created miraculously on the day Prophet Muhammad was born in 570 AD

• Thousands of religious tourists come every year to take a dip in the holy waters of this lake.

• In 2014, Lake Sawa was designated a Ramsar Site, an international designation for significant wetlands, recognized as a rare area in need of conservation.

• This lake was known as the pearl of the south.