The world we operate in today is one of territorial borders and hard political lines. This was not the case for most of the history of our sighthound. The Saluki’s history is one of regions and trade. Genetic dispersion has always been intrinsic to the timeline of this canine treasure, the wellspring for so many breeds, no strain more important than another, all equally prized.

Mesopotamia was the region known as the “Land Between the Rivers”, the rich fertile land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; ancient home of the Sumerians, Assyrians and Babylonians. These ancient civilizations gave way to the dynasties of the Persian, Greek, and Roman Empires. Today’s, Iraq was formed out of the Ottoman Empire provinces of Mosul in the north, Baghdad in central Iraq and Basra in the south.

Religion, tribalism, and oil have written the story of Saudi Arabia today, a young country heir to a rich history and built on the sands covering the ancient histories of many cultures. In prehistoric times the Arabian Peninsula was lush with grasslands and rich in wildlife with early evidence of human life 15,000 to 20,000 years ago in the region.  Climate change brought arid conditions and change to the hunter-gatherer way of life.

Syria lies in the area that was one of the centers of the Neolithic Revolution, the time when man started agricultural farming and the domestication of animals.

Turkey is a country that spans two continents and much of our modern history. To the west lies Greece and Bulgaria, to the east Georgia, Armenia and Iran. In the South Turkey is neighbors with Syria and Iraq, both once part of Turkey in the recent past.

Iran has record of one of the oldest continuous major civilizations dating back to 7000 BCE. The first urban settlements date back to 4000 BCE. Trade has long been the connection in Iran ایران .