City Post: Kurdistan Part Three (Guided Tour Day Two)

The second day of my tour with Govand was focused on some of Iraqi Kurdistan's non-religious history. While Kurdistan has not been an official country in the current context, there was once a Kurdish empire that spanned much of what is called Kurdistan today, which includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. The older towns were strategically located on plateaus, between gorges, or nestled against a mountain to be easily defensible. In the 21st Century, these old towns still exist, but have, in many cases, extended out from their strategic vantage points into the wide-open plains to form larger cities.

But first, breakfast.

Govand took me to a spot in Duhok for a traditional Kurdish breakfast. This was a large, shared plate which contained eggs, hummus, bread, cheese, dates, and more. While the breakfast was good, where we had it was the highlight. We ate at the Martyr's Teashop. This was a tea house dedicated to the Kurdish fighters who have fought and dies for Kurdistan. The walls were full of pictures of fallen Kurdish soldiers, much like you would find in a military unit headquarters. Some of them were young men, but I was shocked to see how many of them were older. Many of the dates of death were from the recent war with Islamic State (IS). These fighters had survived conflict after conflict fighting for the Kurdish cause, and it was fighting against IS that cost them their lives.

The walls also had display cases of gear, weapons, and memorabilia from these martyrs. Govand told me that the Kurdish people held this teashop in extremely high regard, because it served as a living memorial to the cost of the Kurdish cause. This was evident to me, because it was completely full on a random day at the end of December. I had a feeling that even if the food was absolutely terrible (which it wasn't), it would still be full simply to support the continued memory of those whose faces adorned the walls.

After breakfast, we headed to Amedi. This city was initially founded more than 5,000 years ago and was situated on a large plateau almost 1200 meters above sea level. While there was a road which crossed a bridge to connect the main road to the city, the city once was only accessible via the access gates surrounding the plateau. The Mosul Gate, located on the West side of the plateau, has withstood centuries upon centuries of visitors and erosion, and it served as a reminder of just how old this city was.

Its strategic position overlooking the surrounding area aside, Amedi was also an important location for all three Abrahamic religions, albeit for different reasons. According to the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), the prophet Ezekiel was buried in the city (indeed, the tomb where he allegedly lies does date to the time where he would have lived). Some of the Jewish community believed that the prophet Hazana was buried there (allegedly one of the sons of David), while others believed that two Jewish prophets established the first Jewish community in the region at Amedi.

From Amedi, we headed to one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces in the countryside. Unfortunately, we could not go inside, because, it now served as an outpost for the Peshmerga, the Kurdish military forces. Their name literally translated as "those who face death," which in itself was a testimony to the role they played in the fight for Kurdish independence. Technically, the Asayish were a part of the Peshmerga, but the forces at Saddam's palace were the military forces who ensure territorial integrity and Kurdish survival, not the internal security service.

The walls surrounding the palace were painted with detailed depictions of soldiers, tanks, planes, and scenes from war. Govand told me that these were scenes from the 1991 Kurdish Uprising which made Iraqi Kurdistan a de facto autonomous region inside Iraq. The planes being shot down in the murals were Iraqi planes, and the victories depicted were of Kurdish victories over the Iraqi Army, once the most powerful army in the region. I couldn't help but wonder what the government in Baghdad thought of these murals. I knew from my time in Baghdad with the military that the Kurdish independence movement was a sensitive topic on a good day.

Off in the distance, on top of one of the far-off mountains, was a former communications outpost. This outpost once provided retransmission capabilities to the Iraqi Army for when Saddam was at his countryside palace enjoying a swim in his man-made lake. This dictator could never let his government in the capital make a decision without him (nor could any dictator in history, really).

We had time, so we added a stop to the itinerary after Saddam's palace. Instead of heading straight back to Erbil, we took a side trip to Akre, a Kurdish town north of Erbil. Akre was famous for Newroz, the Kurdish New Year celebration. Govand told me that in March (when the festival occurred), there would be dancing, fire jumping, and a procession up the hillside with flaming torches to symbolise the passing of the "dark" Winter to the "light" Spring. He took me up the hillside through the steps of the original old city, which provided amazing views looking out across the expanse of Akre as the old city gave way to the new city, which was largely built after the 2003 invasion.

It was in Akre where Govand introduced me to some of the best food I had had thus far (or, really, since) in my travels. It had become our practice to order two different dishes and share them so we could have some variety in our meals. In Akre, Govand ordered Qaliyah and Kufta. Qaliyah was beef that was specially prepared to give an amazing flavour that I wish I could find a recipe for online.

Kufta is a beef (sometimes lamb) dish where the meat is partially cooked, then wrapped in a bread ball and boiled in sauce to finish cooking the meat and bread. In most places in MENA that served Kufta, this sauce was a sort of tomato sauce. In Akre, however, it was prepared in a special, local yogurt. I had not yet been exposed to the wonders yogurt could work on a meal (that would come later in Turkey), so I was skeptical at first. After that first bite, though, my skepticism gave way as the delicious flavours came to me. Kurdish Kufta in Akre became my new favourite food while traveling (and it still holds that place to this day!).

Following our meal, Govand took me to the shrine of Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Gaylani. Al-Gaylani was one of the leaders of the Alqadiriyya Way, one of the major Sufi orders of Islam (in English, it is mostly known simply as "Qadiri"). Al-Gaylani fought along side Salahaddin, the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty and Sultan of Egypt and Syria from 1171 to 1260. Salahaddin and al-Gaylani fought against the so-called "Crusader States" and eventually conquered the Kingdom of Jerusalem. As the son of the founder of the Alqadiriyya order of Islam and associate of Salahaddin, his shrine was important to Muslims across the world, and could see thousands to tens of thousands of visitors every year. While not a Muslim myself, I could not help but note the importance al-Gaylani had both as a religious figure and a regionally-important military leader.

After the shrine, we headed back to Erbil. As we got close, we could see the high-rise hotels and lights from the malls. Govand said, "Welcome back to Vegas!" as we pulled into town. We still had one more night on the tour, but it rather than spend another night in a hotel, it was easier for both of us to just spend it in Erbil.

After he dropped me off at MyHotel, I headed to Ice Land for dinner at the recommendation of the concierge. This was a fast-food place that served fried chicken. When I was in Iraq with the military, I had had Popeyes's fried chicken, which was by far the best friend chicken I'd had in my life. Unlike in the US, the Popeye's in Baghdad didn't have the throughput to keep an on-hand stock of cooked chicken, so every order I got was made fresh. The same was true at Ice Land, so I had a delicious meal of fried chicken and french fries. In Iraq. With a wait staff that wore uniforms and spoke pretty good English. Iraqi Kurdistan never failed to surprise.

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