Governor rejects naming an airport in Dhi Qar after an ancient Christian city in the governorate

Shafaq News/ Dhi Qar's local government expressed discontent with the Iraqi government's decision to name the governorate's airport after the ancient city of "Ur" instead of the capital city "Nasiriyah".

Addressing the Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani and the higher commission for coordination between the governorates, Dhi Qar's governor Mohammad al-Ghazzi communicated the local government's dismay.

"It is customary for the airports to be named after the names of the main cities in which they are located," the correspondence viewed by Shafaq News Agency said, "the airport is not only associated with the tourist movement, but rather it is one of the most important facilities in the governorate whose center is Nasiriyah."

Al-Ghazzi explained the airport was referred to as "The Nasiriyah International Airport" in the construction contract and all the relevant correspondences.

"The name Nasiriyah is sacred for the people of Dhi Qar. It represents a cultural heritage that is no less important than the name Ur," said the governor.

The governor suggested naming the airport after the governorate's capital city and giving the main halls names of historical value like Ur, Somar, and Shubad.

Ur lies 17km from the capital Nasiriyah. It is one of four ancient Sumerian cities found in Dhi Qar, alongside Eridu, Girsu, and Lagash.

In the Bible, a city named Ur is said to be the birthplace of Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic), the patriarch of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths, who is believed to have lived in the second millennium BC.

Plans had been mooted for years to one day establish a pilgrimage between Ur and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

Years of tumult have vastly reduced Iraq’s Christian population. In 2003, 1.5 million of Iraq's 40 million people were Christian. Today, the Christian population numbers around 150,000-400,000.