Lying in the confluence of the Tigris-Euphrates river systems, the fertile area of the Mesopotamian Marshes is believed by some to be site of the "Garden of Eden." This was home to the Marsh Arabs, also called the Ma'dan, who fished and cultivated rice and melons here. Schulz-Dornburg photographed this area in 1980, shortly before Saddam Hussein ordered the draining of the marshes.

The Marsh Arabs lived here and built their houses and boats using reeds. Under Saddam Hussein, they were persecuted because of their Shiite faith. In 1991, they staged an uprising, only for it to be brutally crushed by Iraqi troops. Tens of thousands of people died and nearly two million people were displaced.

To prevent any remaining Shiite rebels from seeking refuge there, Saddam intensified the draining of the marshes.The United Nations described it as a "tragic human and environmental catastrophe" similar to the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, while others saw it as one of the worst environmental disasters of the 20th century. Schulz-Dornburg's photos bear witness to a once-thriving society.

The "lumbung" is a rice barn with overhanging roofs that is typical to the architecture of the Toraja people on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. This was where the harvest was stored and villagers met to talk. Schulz-Dornburg photographed the lumbung in 1983. It will be featured at the next Documenta - an exhibition of contemporary art held every five years in the German city of Kassel.

For Indonesians, the lumbung represents a communal space, born of the spirit of cooperation. The artist group Ruangrupa, the organizers of Documenta 15, are promoting the lumbung as a value system that questions capitalist modes of production. Ursula Schulz-Dornburg's black-and-white photographs straddle the line between reportage and documentary photography.

This picture of villagers gathered around a lumbung illustrate its other function as a place of communication. During her travels, the now 83-year-old Schulz-Dornburg, searched for traces of the "vanished landscapes" of various cultures. The fruit of her travels - her photographs - keep those memories alive.

The photographer was keen on capturing desolate landscapes of old, and she found that on the Georgian-Azerbaijani border. Here she explored the rock caves of Syrian monks that were hewn into the rugged mountain walls here centuries ago by persecuted Christians. The daughter of an architect, Schulz-Dornburg photographs mostly in black and white.

One of Schulz-Dornburg's travel destinations was Yemen. Today, the Arab country is a battlefield in the proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and largely devastated. On her expedition from Sanaa to Mar'ib in 1987, the Düsseldorf-based photographer encountered barren nature and evidence of past cultures, including this complex of stone stelae in the desert.

She began her Yemen travels in the city of Sanaa, the country's economic and cultural center. Located 2,200 meters (7,218 feet) above sea level, it is renowned for its multi-storey buildings decorated with geometric patterns. Schulz-Dornburg's camera catches a glimpse of this now endangered World Heritage Site that has been ravaged by war.