[2]Basra (Arabic: ٱلْبَصْرَة, romanized: al-Baṣrah) is a city in southern Iraq located on the Shatt al-Arab. The city is a part of the Basra Governorate and is its capital. Basra is located on the Arabian Peninsula, alongside the Shatt al-Arab and Persian Gulf, which borders the Indian Ocean and is located near the Iran–Iraq border. The city's majority of population is of Shia Arab Muslims. Basra is consistently one of the hottest cities in Iraq, with summer temperatures regularly exceeding 50 °C (122 °F). The hottest recorded temperature in Basra is 53.9 °C.
Historically, the city is one of the ports from which the fictional Sinbad the Sailor journeyed. The city was built in 636 and played an important role in the Islamic Golden Age. It was occupied by the Safavid. During the first world war, British captured Basra and incorporated into Mandate for Mesopotamia and later Mandatory Iraq. Basra became part of independent Kingdom of Iraq in 1932. During the Ba'athist period, Basra suffered great loses during the Iran–Iraq War and the Gulf War. The city was damaged heavily during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which overthrew the government of Saddam Hussein.
It is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is handled at the port of Umm Qasr. However, there is ongoing construction of Grand Faw Port on the coast of Basra, which is considered a national project for Iraq and will become one of the largest ports in the world and the largest in the Middle East, in addition, the port will strengthen Iraq's geopolitical position in the region and the world.[3][4][5][6] Furthermore, Iraq is planning to establish a large naval base in the Faw peninsula.[7] In April 2017, the Iraqi Parliament recognized Basra as Iraq's economic capital.[8] Basra have emerged as an important commercial and industrial center for the country, as the city is home to a large number of manufacturing industries ranging from petrochemical to water treatment.
^Sam Dagher (18 September 2007). "In the 'Venice of the East,' a history of diversity". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
^"Basra, Iraq Metro Area Population 1950-2024". www.macrotrends.net. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
^"Iraq's Al Faw port to become largest in Middle East". Global Construction Review. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^"Iraq to sign $2.625 billion Grand Faw port contract with S.Korea's Daewoo". Reuters. 23 December 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^"PM lays Foundation Stone for next phase of Grand Faw Port | Iraq Business News". 14 April 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^"PM Kadhimi lays foundation stone of Basra's Grand Faw port". www.rudaw.net. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^"العراق يخطط لإنشاء قاعدة عسكرية بحرية كبيرة". الشرق الأوسط (in Arabic). Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^"Iraqi parliament recognizes Basra as economic capital". 27 April 2017.
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