Nasiriyah is a city in Southern Iraq. It the closest major settlement to the prehistoric city of Ur.

Understand

Nasiriyah was founded in 1872 and became a major center of trade in Ottoman Iraq. The areas around the city is the ancestral home of many Mandaeans, an ethnoreligious group that were probably the first to practice baptism and are the last surviving Gnostics from antiquity. Today, only a few hundred families remains.

Get in

Nasiriyah has a station on the railway between Baghdad and Basra. Iraqi Republic Railways runs two overnight trains which both calls here. 1 Nasiriyah railway station and is located south of city centre, at the end of Al-Mustafa street.

See

Ruins of Ur.

• 1 Museum of Nasiriyah. The second largest museum in Iraq, housing a large collection of Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and Abbasid artifacts. (updated Jul 2016)
• 2 Ruins of Ur. The historical city of Ur, one of the most important cities during the Sumerian era. Includes the partly restored Great Ziggurat. While large parts of the city have been damaged, it was finally included as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, part of The Ahwar of Southern Iraq: Refuge of Biodiversity and the Relict Landscape of the Mesopotamian Cities. (updated Jul 2016)
• 3 Ruins of Tell Eridu. A smaller archaeological site containing the city of Erid, which is often argued to be the oldest recorded city in the world. Also part of The Ahwar of Southern Iraq: Refuge of Biodiversity and the Relict Landscape of the Mesopotamian Cities UNESCO World Heritage Site. (updated Mar 2019)

Do

Amusement park in Nasiriyah.

Eat

Romana restaurant

Sleep

• 1 Al Janoob International Hotel, Al Nehr St, ☏ +964 781 834 1552. (updated Mar 2019)

Go next

The ruins of the ancient cities of Ur and Larsa are located nearby.