Leg 383 OKBK Kuwait City (Kuwait) to ORMM Basrah (Iraq)
OKBK - Airport Info
;)
ICAO code: OKBK
Airport name: Kuwait Intl
Location: Kuwait City
Useful information
Airport elevation:
Time zone:
Lighted runways:
Maximum runway lenght:
Runway surface:
Instrument approach (ILS, LOC, LDA, and SDF):
Kuwait Info
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab emirate bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq to the north and west. The name is a diminutive of an Arabic word meaning "fortress built near water." It has a population of 3.1 million and an area of 17,818 km². Kuwait is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government, with Kuwait City serving as the country's political and economic capital.
In 1990, Kuwait was invaded and annexed by neighboring Iraq. The seven month-long Iraqi occupation came to an end after a direct military intervention by United States-led forces. Nearly 750 Kuwaiti oil wells were set ablaze by the retreating Iraqi army resulting in a major environmental and economic catastrophe. Kuwait's infrastructure was badly damaged during the war and had to be rebuilt.
Kuwait has the world's fifth largest oil reserves and is the fourth richest country in the world per capita. Kuwait's oil fields were discovered and exploited in the 1930s. After it gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1961, the nation's oil industry saw unprecedented growth. Petroleum and petroleum products now account for nearly 95% of export revenues, and 80% of government income. Kuwait is regarded as the most developed country in the Arab League and a Major non-NATO ally of the United States.
ORMM - Airport Info
ICAO code: ORMM
Airport name: Basrah Intl
Location: Basrah
Useful information
Airport elevation:
Time zone:
Lighted runways:
Maximum runway lenght:
Runway surface:
Instrument approach (ILS, LOC, LDA, and SDF):
Basrah Info
Al-Basrah is the capital of Basra Province, and had an estimated population of 1,052,200 as of 2003. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it is incapable of deep water access, which is handled at the the port of Umm Qasr. The city is the historic location of Sumer, the home of Sinbad the Sailor, and a proposed location of the Garden of Eden. It also played an important role in early Islamic history, being built in 636 CE, or 14 AH. It is Iraq's third largest and most populous city after Baghdad and Mosul.
The city is located along the Shatt al-Arab waterway near the Persian Gulf, 55 kilometers (34 mi) from the Persian Gulf and 545 kilometers (339 mi) from Baghdad, Iraq's capital and largest city.
The area surrounding Basra has substantial large petroleum resources and many oil wells. The city also has an international airport, which recently began restored service into Baghdad with Iraqi Airways—the nation's flag airline. Basra is in a fertile agricultural region, with major products including rice, maize corn, barley, pearl millet, wheat, dates, and livestock. The city's oil refinery has a production capacity of about 140,000 barrels a day (22,300 m³). Iraq has the worlds fourth largest oil reserves estimated to be 360 billion barrels, most of it from Basra. 80% of Basra is unexplored.
In Basra 99.9% of the population are ethnically Arabs. All the Arabs in Basra belong to the Adnanite or the Qahtanite tribes. The main tribes that are located in Basra are Bani Tamim, Bani Assad, Bani Ka'ab, Bani Malik, Shammar, Bani Khalid, Bani Sa'ad, Al-shwelat Anniza, Suwa'id, Al-bo Mohammed, Al-Jboor, Duwasir, Dhufair, Shreefat, Al-Badr, Al-Ubadi, Ruba'ah and hundreds of Arab tribes. Muslim adherents of the area are primarily members of the Jafari Shi`a sect. A sizable number of Sunnis, around 35%[2] of Basra, also live there as well as a small number of Christians. There are also remnants of the pre-Islamic gnostic sect of Mandaeans, whose headquarters were in the area formerly called Suk esh-Sheikh and they are a small community of 3000 people or less.
A network of canals flowed through the city, giving it the nickname "The Venice of the Middle East" at least at high tide. The tides at Basra fall by about 2.7 meters (9 ft). For a long time, Basra was known for the superior quality of its dates.