KURDISTAN PHOTOS

[The Taboo]

1. Jundian, below Rawanduz, just above the Hamilton Road between Erbil and Haj Omran.

 

2. Somewhere up along the Hamilton Road? Where is that irrigation channel on the left?

 

3. Shanidar Cave, 2 hours from Erbil, above the Big Zab River, off the scenic road to Goratu. Remains of Neanderthal Man of some 50,000 years ago were found here during 1957-1961 archaeological excavations. Gravesites indicate burials were according to ritual, with flowers; so far, the earliest indication of human feelings - the first flower children. See Wikipedia, and the January 1996 issue of National Geographic Magazine.

 

4. Just below Rawanduz before going up the zigzag (switchback).

 

5. Rawanduz, higher up in the background. Right chasm.

 

6. Photo taken from an historical ruin. Rawanduz, triangular with deep chasms on two sides, and high mountains (Mount Korek) on the third in back. On the way up the zigzag, on one of the left curves there is a road that goes straight. Take it and keep to the left until coming to a sidewalk without railing. Look down. If you've seen Roadrunner cartoons you will recognize where the coyote disappears into a puff of dust way down below.

 

7. Rawanduz, left chasm.

 

8. The village of Haj Omran, early 1990s, near the border with Iran, looking back toward Halgurd, the commonly accepted highest mountain in Iraq (~3,700 meters).

 

9. In the village of Warte, among walnut trees.

 

10. Where??

 

11. Up along the Hamilton Road?

 

12. Opposite, above Amadiya Town. The road up, which begins near Sulav and goes to Kani Mase, is very rough and tough. At a point just below the road there is a spring with six trees, from where the photo was taken. In the "old days" the British had a military officers' hideaway up here for R&R (rest and recuperation) during the scorching summer heat.

 

13. Duhok Lake, with the dam to the right.

 

14. Duhok Lake in winter.

 

15. Along the road from Spilik, before reaching the Kahlon bridge over the Rawanduz River.

 

16. From up the road that starts just beyond the Kahlon bridge; one of the great roads of Kurdistan. Left goes to Rezan and Barzan. Turn right and go up sand up and up, stopping at a pinnacle rock a little off on the right. (Nearby is a wild fig tree.) Hang-glider and para-glider country. That's the Rawanduz River down below that joins the Big Zab River just above the Bekhme Dam site (construction terminated during the 1991 war), which eventually flows into the Tigris River. Launch a raft/kayak/boat here and go all the way to Baghdad; just be mindful of the dam bypass tunnel and possible disruptions farther downstream.

 

17. Bestoon Cave, on the road up from the Kahlon bridge. Some say there is no end to this cave; some say. Many caves wait to be explored and mapped.

 

18. Along the way to Bedial, a lone Christian village high up in the Barzan region. From Mergasur, up to Kani Bot the road is paved. The ten kilometers bveyond Kani Bot to Bedial is rough but pleasantly adventurous. The ancient (1,000 years?) church is a treasure, mostly because it hasn't been "modernized"; a new church was constructed separately nearby.

 

19. That's the Rukuchuk way down below. There is a wonderful hair-raising track to the bottom twisting down the side to a major spring, Kani Chinar, with huge chinar (maple-like) trees. Water is pumped in three stages to communities up top. Good swimming and fishing in the river. And good chance of spotting wild goats with meter-length horns along the way. Local custom does not allow hunting (nor fishing with grenades).

 

20. Along the road up from the Kahlon bridge?

 

21. Could be many places.

 

22. Along the Hamilton Road, or Gali Zanta, or along the road from Shanidar up to Goratu?

 

23. Gali Zanta?

 

24. Stream flowing out of a pond of ice water from melted snow at 3,000 meters up on the side of Halgurd (3,700 meters), the commonly recognized highest mountain in Iraq. During summer, this area is a source of some of the best tomatoes and cucumbers - organic, irrigated by melting snows. It's also the area of high mountain wildflower honey.

 

25. In the area of high mountain lakes near Halgurd.

 

26. From near Duhok, along the Sindur road??

 

27. Where?

 

28. East of Zakho, between Betufa and Begova??

 

29. The stream Alana Su flowing into the Rawanduz River in Gali Ali Baig. The stream flows from the waterfalls on the 5,000-dinar Iraqi currency note.

 

30. Baikhal, an ice cold spring, even during the hottest month of August. Looking down from the Pank Tourism Resort.