Qurna (Arabic for corner) is a pleasant little place 74 km northwest of Basra at the very tip of the point named Shatt El-Arab, where the two great rivers Tigris and Euphrates meet. It is a strategic position that has been the scene of conflicts for centuries.
As legends have it, Qurna is the reputed site of the Garden of Eden. It has been said that the city was built by Seleucus Nicator I in honor of his wife Apamea. Seleucus was the general who succeeded Alexander the Great after the latter's death on the Tigris.
The view there is truly remarkable: the contrast of the lush south of Iraq with the rest of a country, which is often too barren. It can be seen even better on a side trip up either of the rivers. Each river has a strongly defined character: the banks of the Euphrates are wooded and picturesque, while the Tigris is busier.
The backwaters, creeks and side channels of both are exceedingly beautiful. One can get a glimpse of the fertility that defined Mesopotamia seven to ten thousand years ago, when it was a network of streams and lush forests that provided the resources and population density to create the world's first civilization.
A tree identified as "Eve's Tree," "the Tree of Knowledge," or "Adam's Tree" stands at Qurna, looking a trifle stunted, on the water's edge, wanly waiting for gullible tourists.
