Why Ramadi
Ramadi is a major urban center in central Iraq, positioned along the Euphrates River roughly 110 kilometers west of Baghdad and 50 kilometers west of Fallujah. As the capital and largest city of the Al Anbar Governorate—a region sharing borders with Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia—it rests within a fertile, irrigated alluvial plain. The city serves as a key crossroads for trade and transport across the desert, situated on the main road connecting Baghdad to Amman, with railway links extending toward Haditha and the Syrian border.
Geographically, the core of the city is bounded by the Euphrates River to the north, the Habbaniyah Canal to the west, and the regional rail line to the south. Sprawling suburbs surround this central area, linked by major bridges crossing the river and canal. The surrounding countryside features extensive farmland irrigated by local water channels. To the southeast lies Lake Habbaniyah, which receives water from the Euphrates via the Ramadi Barrage constructed in 1955.
Modern Ramadi was established in 1869 by Midhat Pasha, an Ottoman governor, as part of an effort to settle regional Bedouin tribes. Because of its relatively recent origins, the city lacks an ancient kasbah and is instead characterized by modern concrete architecture, consisting mainly of flat-roofed buildings alongside taller structures such as a seven-story city hospital. It is home to the University of Anbar, which was founded in 1987. The local population is predominantly Sunni Arab, largely belonging to the Dulaim tribal confederation, with individual clans residing across distinct municipal districts.
Throughout the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, Ramadi's strategic location along trade and travel corridors led to its involvement in several historical conflicts. It was contested during both World Wars and experienced extensive combat during the Iraq War and subsequent insurgencies, resulting in severe structural damage before Iraqi government forces secured the city in late 2015.
Ramadi features a hot desert climate with an average annual temperature of 22.4 °C (72.3 °F). The area receives roughly 115 millimeters of precipitation per year, most of which occurs during the winter months. In the warmer seasons, sandstorms frequently pass through the surrounding region.
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