Salt production in scorching heat in Iraq

EMRAH AKBULAK/ HAYDAR KARAALP - Salt workers in the city of Sulaymaniyah in Iraq work intensively in scorching temperatures exceeding 45 degrees. Salt, which is vital for human health, takes its place on the table after a long and arduous work. The water spring in the village of Hoylin in the Sengaw district of Sulaymaniyah is one of the important points where salt is obtained. Salt is one of the sources of income for the people of the region. However, the producers, who say that they used to produce 1000 tons of salt every year in the past, indicate that production has dropped to 300 tons per year in recent years. In order to process the salt, the area where it is located is first cleaned and turned into a pool. It is then left to distill. After the water evaporates, the salt remaining on the surface is filled into bags and transported to trucks. The priority for salt production is rain. Salt production begins in the summer or fall with the end of the rainy season. "We are ...