We are at our final destination, Erbil, which is in Iraqi Kurdistan. Kurdistan was its own tribal region that was arbitrarily divided after World War I and is now part of four separate countries - Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran.
Iraqi Kurdistan is almost exclusively autonomous of Federal Iraq since the early 90s. It has oil wealth and the support of the US and Turkey.
It is remarkable to think that Erbil could be a blueprint for the rest of the county. It is a large, safe,modern city filled with tourists and westerners as well as western business and money.
(Ramada, Hyatt, KFC, Carrefour)
But more importantly to the post, due to its connection to Persia, they make a big deal out of the first day of spring which is also Persian New Year. We travelled about an hour to a small mountainous town called Akre to witness the celebration.
At sunset the fireworks begin and after a few minutes you can see the torches begin to light up the mountainside.
There is music and dancing and just an incredible celebration. Perhaps a bit more like a Nantucket New Year as it was pretty chilly.
A long but very enjoyable evening. And quite a bus ride home. (Who knew Derek smoked weed with the Taliban)
Really, you're going to end the post with that? Derek is an American with connections to the Taliban and works with the FIIS. There's more to tell there. It looks and sounds like an incredible trip. Did you find anything better than a pin?
ReplyDeleteHaha! Derek has a pretty amazing travel resume. There are stories. Obviously not much of a tourism infrastructure means not much to buy. The postcard is cool as I think it could be from Saddam's.time. We have some free time today before flights and we will be at the bazaar.
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