I was completely ignorant of the fact that Kurdistan in the far north east of Iraq is an autonomous region ruled by its own parliament and own police force, laws and military. This has been a much abused area and the people have endured heart rending trauma. Firstly Saddam gassed them in the early 1980s and more recently these guys have been at the frontline in the war against ISIS. Looking at the map I see Mosul, Kirkuk and Tikrit all frontline war zones, all decimated by fighting all no go zones for tourists for fear of reprisals by ISIS sleeper cells believed to be there.
By contrast this is a beautiful area, greener than southern Iraq and with hills and mountains. The temerature is mild,the traffic is more orderly and gone are the roadside piles of rubbish that blight southern Iraq. The people are friendly, there is a tolerance of a variety of religions here.
We head off this morning on the 6 lane highway to Mosul. The road is beautiful and checkpoints are fewer and more of a formality. Some 50 km out we veer off northwards and climb out into the hills up a steep narrow hairpin bend road to St Matthew’s monastery. Built in the 3rd century AD and restored over the years since this is a pretty Syrian orthodox complex. Peaceful, the vibe here is distinctly southern European. The service that was going at the time was reminiscent of my childhood Catholic experiences.
After lunch it was off to Lalish, the holiest site for the Yazidi people. These gentle people are partly a religion but more a tight knit ethnic grouping. Their faith does not resemble any of our mainstream religions. It is monotheistic but borrows elements of Christianity and Islam. You can only be a Yezidi if both your mother and father are Yezidi. Converts from the outside cannot be accepted. The Yezidis suffered most from the depravity of ISIS. Men were killed if they refused to convert to Islam and women were raped. Any offspring from that violence by definition could not be accepted into the Yezidi community.
Our arrival at Lalish coincides with a religious festival and the place is hopping. People everywhere, dancing, acts of devotion, baptisms. Everyone is dressed to the nines and the atmosphere is festive. Photography, including of the people is just fine and I and a few thers in our group join in the dancing.This was a special day in a really special place.
