What do you think?
Rate this book
Return to the Marshes: Life with the Marsh Arabs of Iraq
It was the legendary traveller Wilfred Thesiger who first introduced Gavin Young to the Marshes of Iraq. Since then Young has been entranced by both the beauty of the Marshes and by the Marsh Arabs who inhabit them, a people whose lifestyle is almost unchanged from that of their predecessors, the Ancient Sumerians. On his return to the Marshes some years later Gavin Young found that the twentieth-century had rudely intruded on this lifestyle and that war was threatening to make the Marsh Arabs existence extinct. Return to the Marshes, first published in 1977, is at once a moving tribute to a unique way of life as well as a love story to a place and its people. 'A superbly written essay which combines warmth of personal tone, a good deal of easy historical scholarship and a talent for vivid description rarely found outside good fiction.' Jonathan Raban, Sunday Times
186 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 1977
10 people are currently reading
127 people want to read
About the author
Gavin Young
52 books8 followersGavin David Young (24 April 1928 – 18 January 2001) was a journalist and travel writer.
He was born in Bude, Cornwall, England. His father, Gavin Young, was a lieutenant colonel in the Welsh Guards. Daphne, his mother, was the daughter of Sir Charles Leolin Forestier-Walker, Bt, of Monmouthshire. Young spent most of his youth in Cornwall and South Wales. He graduated from Oxford University, where he studied modern history.
Young spent two years with the Ralli Brothers shipping company in Basra in Iraq before living with the Marsh Arabs of southern Iraq between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. He fashioned his experiences into a book, Return to the Marshes (1977). In 1960, from Tunis, he joined The Observer of London as a foreign correspondent, and was the Observer's correspondent in Paris and New York. He had covered fifteen wars and revolutions throughout the world, and worked for The Guardian and was a travel writer. Young died in London on 18 January 2001; he was 72 years old.
He was born in Bude, Cornwall, England. His father, Gavin Young, was a lieutenant colonel in the Welsh Guards. Daphne, his mother, was the daughter of Sir Charles Leolin Forestier-Walker, Bt, of Monmouthshire. Young spent most of his youth in Cornwall and South Wales. He graduated from Oxford University, where he studied modern history.
Young spent two years with the Ralli Brothers shipping company in Basra in Iraq before living with the Marsh Arabs of southern Iraq between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. He fashioned his experiences into a book, Return to the Marshes (1977). In 1960, from Tunis, he joined The Observer of London as a foreign correspondent, and was the Observer's correspondent in Paris and New York. He had covered fifteen wars and revolutions throughout the world, and worked for The Guardian and was a travel writer. Young died in London on 18 January 2001; he was 72 years old.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 29, 2024
A great book, which is best read after Thesiger's The Marsh Arabs, and Gavin Maxwell's A Reed Shaken by the Wind: Travels among the Marsh Arabs of Iraq.
This book covers three aspects. It initially goes back into the history of the Mesopotamian Marshes and covers its changes over time. Sumerian's, the introduction of Islam, first contact with Europeans, the coming of the British (World War I).
It then delves into Gavin Young's own time in the marshes, starting in 1952. Starting out with Thesiger, then spending time by himself with the Madan, with his own boat and his own crew of paddlers. Young leaves the marshes in 1956.
The third section charts Young's subsequent visit in 1973, when he tracked down a lot of his former friends, revisiting places familiar to him. This visit and a few returns in the following 4-5 years gave the author a lot of hope for the future. There was a lot that was the same.
A short quote from this section: One day alone with young Shibil as he fished a lagoon, I said 'Before I returned here, I thought I would never see the marshes, or any of you ever again. I thought you might have all vanished.' He slapped his bare chest with his hand, sending a sharp echo around the red verge. 'Vanished? We Madan? Do I look as if I would ever disappear?" He stood laughing in the prow of his canoe, brown and half naked, his spear raised to strike down into the water.
My edition contains an epilogue written in 1989. In 1980, the Iran/Iraq war commenced. It was not until 1989 that there was a resolution. In 1984 Gavin Young succeeded in returning again to Basra, and into the Marshes. Many of his friends had died. Some had moved away. Many others remained. His view of the future was one of caution, but hope for the survival of the ancient Madan culture, and way of life.
Sadly, Saddam Hussein's plan to dam rivers and drain the Marshes displaced the vast majority of these people. Wikipedia says the Marshes were considered a refuge for 'elements persecuted by the government of Hussein', and in retribution he set up the irrigation project which resulted in displacement and resettlement, largely in refugee camps. The Marsh Arabs, who numbered around 500,000 in the 1950 were reduced to as few as 20,000 in Iraq. Since 2003, when dykes were breached returning waterflow, the process has been reversed and permanent wetlands cover 50% of the 1970s area. Now only a few thousand Madan remain in the marshes.
This book covers three aspects. It initially goes back into the history of the Mesopotamian Marshes and covers its changes over time. Sumerian's, the introduction of Islam, first contact with Europeans, the coming of the British (World War I).
It then delves into Gavin Young's own time in the marshes, starting in 1952. Starting out with Thesiger, then spending time by himself with the Madan, with his own boat and his own crew of paddlers. Young leaves the marshes in 1956.
The third section charts Young's subsequent visit in 1973, when he tracked down a lot of his former friends, revisiting places familiar to him. This visit and a few returns in the following 4-5 years gave the author a lot of hope for the future. There was a lot that was the same.
A short quote from this section: One day alone with young Shibil as he fished a lagoon, I said 'Before I returned here, I thought I would never see the marshes, or any of you ever again. I thought you might have all vanished.' He slapped his bare chest with his hand, sending a sharp echo around the red verge. 'Vanished? We Madan? Do I look as if I would ever disappear?" He stood laughing in the prow of his canoe, brown and half naked, his spear raised to strike down into the water.
My edition contains an epilogue written in 1989. In 1980, the Iran/Iraq war commenced. It was not until 1989 that there was a resolution. In 1984 Gavin Young succeeded in returning again to Basra, and into the Marshes. Many of his friends had died. Some had moved away. Many others remained. His view of the future was one of caution, but hope for the survival of the ancient Madan culture, and way of life.
Sadly, Saddam Hussein's plan to dam rivers and drain the Marshes displaced the vast majority of these people. Wikipedia says the Marshes were considered a refuge for 'elements persecuted by the government of Hussein', and in retribution he set up the irrigation project which resulted in displacement and resettlement, largely in refugee camps. The Marsh Arabs, who numbered around 500,000 in the 1950 were reduced to as few as 20,000 in Iraq. Since 2003, when dykes were breached returning waterflow, the process has been reversed and permanent wetlands cover 50% of the 1970s area. Now only a few thousand Madan remain in the marshes.
March 12, 2021
Young was in Basra working for a shipping company in 1952 when he heard that the great Arabian traveller Thesiger was in town. He managed to wangle a meeting with him via the British Consul and over lunch told him about his dream of travelling across Saudi Arabia on the back of a camel. Expecting encouragement from him, he was rebuffed and told that he would never get a visa for the country. At that moment, the thought of sitting in an office for the rest of his working life almost became too much of a burden to bear. Instead, Thesiger suggests a trip to the marshes. He was going there tomorrow, but would be back in six weeks, for a bath and could take him then.
He had never heard of the place, but six weeks later he is climbing out of a taxi, alongside a tribute of Tigris. Alongside the bank is a long slender black canoe with some lads sitting in it. He is told to carefully climb in as it can tip. In no time at all, they are gliding silently through the water. Greetings were exchanged with other canoes that they passed. There was a word from the lad paddling in the front and they turned a corner and Young had the first glimpse of the home of the Madan. The following morning they would travel far deeper into the marsh.
It was the beginning of a series of friendships that would last all his life. Like Thesiger, he grew to love the watery landscape and most of all the people. It was a harsh life there, aa lot of the people he knew or saw had some form of injury or illness. Even though it was tough there, the people seemed happy, but he could sense that pressure from the outside world starting to seep in, men were starting to use nets to fish rather than the more traditional spears, guns that had been looted from various armies had changed the dynamics between the various tribes to a certain extent.
He returned many times to the marshes, but the last time he went before this book was written was in the early 1970s. His memories flood back as he pulls up in a taxi in more or less the same spot as he did all those years ago. Fear mixed with elation as he wondered how it would have changed over that time…
I really liked this book, like Thesiger he is a sensitive traveller, accepting of the hospitality that he is generously offered and wanting to help and spend time with the people of the marshes. It is partly a history of the region, how it moved through its various changes before adopting Islam from the Arabs before it moves onto his travels around the place with Thesiger and then by himself a few years later. He has a perceptive eye for the people and the wildlife as he travels around the marshes in his own boat with locals acting as guides. The final part of the book was excellent; he heads back after a large number of years and not only does he find the people that he knew from the 1950s, but they remember him. His writing style is a little warmer than Thesiger and it is a good companion volume to The Marsh Arabs and A Reed Shaken By The Wind. You get a sense of the events and places that all three authors saw from a subtly different perspective.
He had never heard of the place, but six weeks later he is climbing out of a taxi, alongside a tribute of Tigris. Alongside the bank is a long slender black canoe with some lads sitting in it. He is told to carefully climb in as it can tip. In no time at all, they are gliding silently through the water. Greetings were exchanged with other canoes that they passed. There was a word from the lad paddling in the front and they turned a corner and Young had the first glimpse of the home of the Madan. The following morning they would travel far deeper into the marsh.
It was the beginning of a series of friendships that would last all his life. Like Thesiger, he grew to love the watery landscape and most of all the people. It was a harsh life there, aa lot of the people he knew or saw had some form of injury or illness. Even though it was tough there, the people seemed happy, but he could sense that pressure from the outside world starting to seep in, men were starting to use nets to fish rather than the more traditional spears, guns that had been looted from various armies had changed the dynamics between the various tribes to a certain extent.
He returned many times to the marshes, but the last time he went before this book was written was in the early 1970s. His memories flood back as he pulls up in a taxi in more or less the same spot as he did all those years ago. Fear mixed with elation as he wondered how it would have changed over that time…
I really liked this book, like Thesiger he is a sensitive traveller, accepting of the hospitality that he is generously offered and wanting to help and spend time with the people of the marshes. It is partly a history of the region, how it moved through its various changes before adopting Islam from the Arabs before it moves onto his travels around the place with Thesiger and then by himself a few years later. He has a perceptive eye for the people and the wildlife as he travels around the marshes in his own boat with locals acting as guides. The final part of the book was excellent; he heads back after a large number of years and not only does he find the people that he knew from the 1950s, but they remember him. His writing style is a little warmer than Thesiger and it is a good companion volume to The Marsh Arabs and A Reed Shaken By The Wind. You get a sense of the events and places that all three authors saw from a subtly different perspective.
August 31, 2017
الكتاب لطيف رغم سطحيته في بعض المواضيع .
لكنني لم احبه ، مللت كثيراً خلال قراءته ، ربما هو ليس لي او ربما لم يكن وقت قراءته مناسباً .
لكنني لم احبه ، مللت كثيراً خلال قراءته ، ربما هو ليس لي او ربما لم يكن وقت قراءته مناسباً .
October 2, 2019
This is a lovely book, packed with photos, some in colour. They show the Marsh Arabs living quietly and making homes from timbers and woven reeds, boats, clothes, everything they needed from their surroundings. It must have been a hard life but they seem cheerful as they go about fishing.
One photo shows "Gavin Maxwell's otter Mijbil, a species unknown to science before 1956."
I read this book from the Royal Dublin Society library.
One photo shows "Gavin Maxwell's otter Mijbil, a species unknown to science before 1956."
I read this book from the Royal Dublin Society library.
March 21, 2014
The only question I want to ask about, how did Gavin have had the friendly relationship with those Arab Marshes people? I don't know how he for three times came to the region even at the war time that witnessed a savage broken out war between Iraq and Iran.
I think as I am an Iraqi person I cannot do so in British, I think it is impossible to find the warmth- chested people in England... As I read the book " return to the marshes" which it really discloses the autobiography written by its author "Gavin" since he had visited the Iraqi- marshes across three times, the first time was at 1951, the second visit was at 1973, and the third time of his visit was at 1984 during the Iraqi- Iranian war.
The minute details he mentioned about the inhabitants lived there, the animals, the birds, the customs and habits of marshes people, his close-friends names, the Iraqis, all those minute details perplexed me more and more, but on the other hand the only thing it results on is the simple and the good- nature of Iraqis souls, their generosity, their good-hearted, so reasonably I had to think that Iraqis had helped the humanity more and more.
I think as I am an Iraqi person I cannot do so in British, I think it is impossible to find the warmth- chested people in England... As I read the book " return to the marshes" which it really discloses the autobiography written by its author "Gavin" since he had visited the Iraqi- marshes across three times, the first time was at 1951, the second visit was at 1973, and the third time of his visit was at 1984 during the Iraqi- Iranian war.
The minute details he mentioned about the inhabitants lived there, the animals, the birds, the customs and habits of marshes people, his close-friends names, the Iraqis, all those minute details perplexed me more and more, but on the other hand the only thing it results on is the simple and the good- nature of Iraqis souls, their generosity, their good-hearted, so reasonably I had to think that Iraqis had helped the humanity more and more.
January 10, 2017
One of those books where you can 'feel' the location through its pages. Dust, dirt, reeds, water - all under an unrelenting sun - and even more so with the people Gavin Young writes about. If ever there was a book that made me want to travel, this was certainly it.
April 13, 2015
Oh gosh, this book was fantastic. It was poetry. It was wonderful.
October 8, 2015
Bitter-sweet as you know what Saddam did afterwards
July 23, 2016
ذكر معلومة في الكتاب بأن الإمام علي ع أُغتيل وهو في طريقه إلى مسجد الكوفة!! شيء غريب أن يصدر منه هذا الخطأ !، فالمعروف بأن الإمام علي عليه السلام ضُرب وهو في محراب الصلاة في مسجد الكوفة.
August 28, 2021
I really liked the book, it showed me sides I didn’t know about my country ❤️
Read
September 18, 2021كتاب لا يمكن وصفه عشت كل تفاصيل سكان الاهوار مع الكاتب احيانا أحببت صدقهم وأحيانا غضبت من بساطتهم كل صفحه حكايه والصور الفوتوغرافيه وحدها موضوع اخر
February 28, 2023
Touching and enlightening.
Read
January 8, 2024مقدمة المؤلف اعجبتني
تاثير ولفرد ثيسجر يملأ كل الكتب عن الاهوار تقريبا
الفصل الاخير كان مؤلما و يحكي فترة من الحرب العراقية الايرانية
تاثير ولفرد ثيسجر يملأ كل الكتب عن الاهوار تقريبا
الفصل الاخير كان مؤلما و يحكي فترة من الحرب العراقية الايرانية
February 17, 2021
Great book to read. I feel the poignant feelings of Young towards the marshes and its people and how he feared urbanization and the oil would drastically change it to the limit of total disappearance. I wrote my novel Thesiger's Mashhuf and allocated more than a chapter to Young and this book.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews