Young Iraqis row a flotilla of traditional wooden boats known as "mashoof", a fixture of Iraq's rivers and marshlands that have long been vastly outnumbered by modern, motorised vessels. Iraq must save "from extinction an essential facet of our civilisation which has existed for four or five millenia", says painter and sculptor Rashad Salim who established a workshop to preserve the country traditional boating culture. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES