KARBALA: Thousands of young date palms, Iraq’s national symbol, form lines that extend from the edge of the desert near the central city of Karbala and into the horizon. “The date palm is the symbol and pride of Iraq,” says Mohamed Abul-Maali, commercial director at the Fadak date plantation. Often the trunks of felled date palms were used to fill and bury irrigation canals that had dried up and become unused. A government programme to rescue the date palms was launched in 2010, but eight years later it was shelved due to a lack of funds, says Yasseri. “The date of Badra is incomparable,” says Mussa Mohsen who owns around 800 date palm trees.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 18, 2022 02:16 UTC