Against the stream: Iraqi artist battles to save boating tradition
Against the stream: Iraqi artist battles to save boating tradition

Young Iraqis row a flotilla of traditional wooden boats down the Tigris river in Baghdad, celebrating an ancient nautical heritage in the now drought-stricken country.

Once common sight across Iraq's southern streams and marshlands, the elongated boats, known as meshhouf, have been around "since the time of the Sumerians", said event organiser Rashad Salim.