Erbil, the capital in a country that does not exist.

Erbil, also called Hawler, is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. I wish them the best of luck. Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan in West Asia, including parts of southeastern Turkey, north of Syria, and northwestern Iran. As with the rest of Kurdistan, unlike most of Iraq, the region is inland and mountainous. Amid this, you find Erbil, a pearl of a city.

Entering Iraqi Kurdistan

After several days in Iraq, we entered Iraqi Kurdistan. We would spend the last three nights of my trip through Iraq and Kurdistan in this area. There is a border between the two parts of the country, and we had already got our visa to enter, but it took a long time to pass the control. We also got a new guide because they speak another language and want their people to guide in their country. On the first day, we visited Lalish and the Yazīdī festival. On day two, we were going to see two places before we arrived in Erbil.

Amediye

On day two, we first stopped in Amediye, built on a mesa in the broader Great Zab River valley. I have seen fantastic pictures of this town, especially birds-eye views. Therefore, it is a shame to put in a picture like the one I have, but that was the best I could make, facing the sun. We went into town and visited old mosques and saw ruins of old synagogues. After one legend, Three Whise Men were supposed to come from this town or have passed through it.

Shanidar cave

In the afternoon, we continued to the Shanidar cave. After sitting in the bus for some hours today, taking the 20-minute hike to the cave was nice. Neanderthal remains were discovered here in 1953. Overall, these excavations found the remains of seven adult and two infant Neanderthals, dating from around 65,000–35,000 years ago. The cave entrance is triangular, 25 meters wide by 8 meters high, and 40 meters deep. There is still digging in the cave’s centre for even more finds. Strangely, there was no acoustic in the cave, so there was no point in performing a song.

Erbil

Human settlement at Erbil may date back to the 5th millennium BC. The ancient Citadel of Erbil and Mudhafaria Minaret are at the city’s heart. The Assyrians later conquered the city. During my travels through all the countries in the Middle East, I feel, in my research, that I constantly come to a new record of age. But it all comes down to the fact that this is the cradle of the human species.

Erbil Citadel

It was a bit confusing about whether we would enter the Citadel. Some said it would be open, so optimistically, we went there in the morning, but as in Aleppo last year, this UNESCO heritage site was closed to visitors at the moment. I also wanted to visit the Kurdish Textile Museum, which was also within the Citadel. However, the Mudhafaria Minaret was open for inspections, even if we could not climb any stairs. The minaret is 36 meters high and was built in 1190–1232 AD.  The second balcony of the minaret is now collapsed.

We visited the Syriac Heritage Museum in the Christian neighbourhood of Ankawa. The museum maintains and displays the cultural heritage of the Syriac people through several exhibits and a cultural hall that contains pictures and profiles of prominent historical figures. After the Iraq Museum in Baghdad, this is a significant museum.

Iraqi Kurdistan

When you visit a country, or two countries within one, just for a few days, it isn’t easy to spot the big differences. But my experience is that the Kurds are more traditional, especially the older men, dressing up as they have done for ages, all with the headscarf tied in their unique way. But what is pervasive is that we meet friendly people all over. I am writing this post at the same time as the Assad regime has fallen in Syria, so it is with great interest we watch what will happen to the Kurdish people in Syria.

Lastly, we visited the Jalil Khayat Mosque. The mosque’s style resembles the Mosque of Muhammad Ali in Cairo and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. It has been cited as one of the most beautiful mosque interiors. It is a Sunni Islamic Mosque, finished in 2007. This concludes my days in Iraq and Kurdistan. It has been a very interesting trip, and I will have no problem recommending it.