The Eternal Flame In Iraq

The Eternal flame in Iraq is the name lent to flames coming out of the natural gas vents since thousands of years at 'Baba Gurgur' oilfield in Kirkuk, which lies two hundred and fifty kilometers to the north-east of Baghdad. This was discovered for the first time in Northern Iraq in 1927. The name in Kurdish means 'father of flames'. Before the discovery of the 'Ghawar fields' in Saudi Arabia in 1950s, the 'Baba Gurgur' oilfield was the largest oilfield. Numerous poems have been since then written on these ever burning flames. The Eternal Fire was first described by Herodotus and ancient Greek author Plutarch.