Dhi Qar Governorate · Iraq
Nasiriyah travel guide
Nasiriyah is a city in Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq, home to about 542,000 people.
- Best months
- November to March
- Nearest airport
- BSR145 km · Basra International Airport
- Currency
- IQDIraqi dinar
- Time zone
- Asia/Baghdad
- Language
- Arabic, Kurdish language
About
About Nasiriyah
Nasiriyah, also spelled Nassiriya or Nasiriya, is a city in Iraq, the capital of the Dhi Qar Governorate. It lies on the lower Euphrates, about 360 km (225 miles) south-southeast of Baghdad, near the ruins of the ancient city of Ur, as well as the recently established Ur Tourist City located adjacent to the archaeological site.
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 remain.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Nasiriyah
See
There is a called The Ahwar of Southern Iraq: Refuge of Biodiversity and the Relict Landscape of the Mesopotamian Cities. "Ahwar" translates as "marshland" and the region is listed partly for the wetlands flora and fauna. However, the listing also includes several cities of ancient Sumer.
- Museum of Nasiriyah
- Ruins of Ur
- Ruins of Tell Eridu
- Ruins of Larsa
- Ruins of Girsu
- Nasiriyah park
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Nasiriyah
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Nasiriyah are November to March. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 45 °C; January is the wettest, with about 23 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Nasiriyah: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Basra International Airport (BSR), about 145 km from the city centre in a straight line.
Getting in
There are limited domestic flights from Baghdad to Nasiriyah with the national carrier Iraqi airways.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
BSR · Basra International Airport
Questions
Nasiriyah: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Nasiriyah?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Nasiriyah are November to March. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 45 °C; January is the wettest, with about 23 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Nasiriyah?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Basra International Airport (BSR), about 145 km from the city centre in a straight line.
What currency is used in Nasiriyah?
Iraqi dinar (IQD).
Nearby
Destinations near Nasiriyah
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.