A network of highways and railroads between the major cities and the outlying provinces has help Iraq's in development as a modern, industrial society. Pipelines for oil exports run to the Mediterranean Sea and Turkey, and to the port of Basra. In 1914 Iraq had only two main roads, one from Baghdad across the desert to Al Fallujah on the Euphrates and the other, used mainly for produce, from Mosul to Mardin, Turkey. Roads and railways were built to meet the transportation needs of the Allied forces during the two world wars.

These became the nucleus of the nation's present system, which includes more than 23,800 miles (38,300 kilometers) of paved roads and about 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) of track. Iraq's railroad connections run through Syria, Turkey and Europe. In the mid-1980s more passenger cars and commercial vehicles were in use. International airports serve Baghdad and Al Basrah. Al Basrah, on the Shatt al Arab, and Umm Qasr are the main ports for oceangoing vessels, and river steamers are able to navigate the Tigris from Al Basrah to Baghdad.

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