Blogs from Arbil, North, Iraq, Middle East
October 13th 2010
Woke up early to leave for the next city, Erbil, about 180 kms away is the capital of Kurdish Iraq. I have to wake up reception, still sleeping at 9am, paid my bills and he wrote me a place I can stay in Erbil. Walked to the share taxi stand next to the bazaar, I paid 15,000 dinar and waited half an hour to get more people before we set off. 3 hours more or less we drove into dry desolate landscape, brown and arid at this time though there is already a chill in the air as it is now autumn, I noticed a number of checkpoints and we got checked 3 times, most soldiers can't read Roman letters and they thumb through my passport meticulously and asks where I am from as if my ... read more
Brothels, Devil Worship and Dancing Debbke
Published: January 8th 2010Middle East » Iraq » North » Arbil
December 3rd 2009
The morning after our return from Amediyya, despite all falling asleep midway through another BJ fuelled debate, we managed to get up relatively early, and made our way out to negotiate a taxi to take us to Lalish, the monastery and pilgrimage site of the Yezidis. The Kurds were originally Yazidi, though many converted to Islam, and those who are left are often accused of being Satanists amd have been persecuted for their beliefs. They worship a peacock God named Malek Taus, who refused to bow to Adam on God’s command, because when he was created he was told never to bow to anything. The Yazidis see this not as a sign of sinful pride, which prompted Satan not to bow to Adam in the Islamic and Christian traditions, but rather as a sign of his ... read more
October 23rd 2009
For more of my photos, or to buy my book, please visit www.nickkembel.com Before you read ahead, forget everything you know about Iraq. The ancient Mesopotamian ruins of Ur and Nineveh, where civilization began and writing and law codes were invented, the site of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the purported location of the Garden of Eden, and capital city Baghdad are all scratched off my Iraq travel itinerary. I am going to the ‘New Iraq’, a relatively safe and stable, visually stunning, and quickly developing semi-autonomous state in northern Iraq, occupied by some of the friendliest and most hospitable people in the world. My exposure to Iraqi people and culture actually began before I even entered the country. On a recent bus ride from Turkey to Syria, I shared a seat with Jabbar Hassan, ... read more
