For the past decade, media coverage of politics and life in Iraq has been dominated by the issues of the destructive American invasion and its aftermath. Often lost among these images are the stories of how life persists. In this episode, Julia Harte and Anna Ozbek discuss a journey up the Tigris (partially funded by a National Geographic Young Explorers grant) and their investigations of the local policies, politics, and problems surrounding water usage and management in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. We discuss the effects of recent policies and the anticipated impacts of ongoing projects from the restoration of the Iraqi marshes to the construction of the Ilısu Dam in Eastern Anatolia. - See more at: http://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2013/12/water-iraq-turkey-syria-tigris-river.html#sthash.EMWw9j8Q.dpuf