Historic Sawa Lake disappears from Iraqi map
The Sawa Lake in Iraq has been associated with tales of history and human activity for hundreds of years, but today it has turned into just another plot of the desert that used to surround it after it has completely dried up.
Lake Sawa, located in Muthanna governorate in southern Iraq, has completely dried up, and so this unique water spot that was located in the middle of the arid desert for thousands of years has disappeared.
The name of this lake was mentioned in history books and religious novels, some of which mention that its waters raged on the day of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad.
Iraqis call the salty lake the Pearl of the South, and its water contains minerals used for medicinal purposes.
For some Shiites, its drying up presents itself as a sign of the appearance of Imam al-Mahdi, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, who is to appear after an absence of hundreds of years to rule the world with justice. This has led people to believe the dryness of the lake is a matter of belief.
