Viva Kurdistan

another borrowed photo
OK, so I am not sure what to write here... what I am not going to write is an essay on Kurdish nationalism. Instead, to all those living in Kurdistan and members of the diaspora, I say (in addition to 'Happy Newroz'), 'Harbizhi Kurdistan'. This year, like last year, I rode to the first Newroz picnic of the year in a car decorated with two Kurdish flags... and unlike the pinickers' flags from last year... and unlike the Iraqi flags near Erbil airport, there were no gold fringes. Please note, that with the exception of Newroz, I have never ever been in a car decorated with the flag of any nation including my own.

Newroz we piroz be

picture stolen from Lonely Planet
This year's Newroz picnic was much like last year's, except that I had 2 invitations to 2 different picnics which turned out to be the same picnic. I got up late and missed the departure of the people who invited me first (Izzy and his gang)... such a shame. However, it meant that I didn't have to get all dolled up in a borrowed candy pink Kurdish dress. Instead I went with Dr. Z, Pambette, Mu, the owner of Cafe de Paris (the restaurant where I spend the evening before dancing to live music), and one of his staff.
Anyway, we arrived at this year's chosen picnic spot- outside the village where Salahadin lived. There were tents and the musicians from the night before's party were there. Many people were dancing and alas, as we made our way towards the dancers, we tripped over Izzy's party. They were grilling and eating meat and Juan was wearing a green Kurdish dress (which my borrowed pink one was to accompany). We listened to music, ate and then got back on the road home (which was packed with picnickers). This year, I saw just a few things that I didn't see last year: Bedouin men on the hillsides walking in groups and a few solitary guys watching their sheep. Also, I saw lots of swings. I guess they were there last year, but I didn't notice them... all over people had attached ropes looped to trees, a pillow or blanket anchored in the middle and women in their dresses sitting on those pillows just a swinging.

My camera was given to a friend of Mu's today who will take it to Istanbul for fixing... However, I will get pictures from Izzy and Pambette and replace the one from the Lonely Planet.

Treacle Treatment

If you haven't guessed, this post is about "waxing"... so men who are uncomfortable should discontinue reading.

Some of you regular readers will know that I occasionally spend time with Izzy and some of his newspaper crew. Well, recently it has been rumored that Juan, an Arab advertising manager from Baghdad, is an expert at all sorts of salon treatments... Yesterday I met up with her (despite the fact that we share no common language) so that I could verify the truth of her skills. The session started out with me screaming as she tweezed and threaded half of my eyebrows right off my face. They are thinner than I would normally like to see them, but she did a neat and clean job.
Then came the treacle (sugaring). She heated up a mixture of lemon juice and sugar and then as it cooled, she added some water and kneaded it into a ball. She took the toffee ball, squished it onto my wrist and used her thumbs to spread the sticky stuff up my arm. Then she unstuck the end and deftly folded it back bit by bit towards my wrist. Spreading the sugar against the hair growth and pulling it off in the direction of hair growth is opposite of waxing, but I think it hurt ever so slightly less (no screaming). It was neater and easier than regular waxing, needing no fabric strips and no heating. And finally, at the cost of a cup of sugar...

Kurdish Globe Advert Inspires Joy

This little ad means that it is once again possible for me to make travel plans with friends without the fear that my flight will suddenly be cancelled or rescheduled. I will also be able to visit Amy after she moves to London... or meet her in Vienna.

Curb Painting

There is hopefully a picture and some text coming, but in the , here is a good link about the Arab League's visit: http://www.kurdishglobe.net/displayArticle.jsp?id=719D884DFE3B86A4A5B86BC4F1D7F7B3
and other possibly related news: http://www.stratfor.com/sitrep/iraq_car_bomb_targets_sulaymaniyah_hotel

Gold Fringes

One week ago, the item at the top of my wish list was a spangly, sparkly Kurdish dress (complete with sparkly pointy-toed heels and gold-fake will do- jewelry) to wear over Nawruz and all the subsequent picnics and weddings. However, yesterday this wish was displaced.

Upon a brief stop in the parking lot of the apartments to pick up Mu, Dr Z and I saw J's "couch surfies" coming towards us lugging heavy backpacks! (Yes, there are people couch surfing even in Northern Iraq). They couldn't get visas for Iran and were headed to the airport to catch a flight to Jordan. Dr. Z magnanimously offered to drop them at the new airport terminal... or at least at the parking lot outside the high-security gates where they could catch a mini-bus to the terminal. WOW! The road to the airport was lined, not with palm trees - my No.1 favorite road-liner, but with the new (although temporary) Iraqi flag. Since my arrival here, only Kurdish flags could be seen in Hawler... but these flags (see above) were not only flags, but flags trimmed with gold fringes. At the gate to the airport, other flags were in evidence; the Kurdish flag followed by what must have been (no time to examine closely) the flags of the 19 nations currently represented at the Arab Parliamentary Union Conference taking place here at the Martyr Saad Conference Center. What do you think would happen to me if I tried to snag myself one of these flag commemorate of the Arab League's presence? (I already have a Kurdish one... the kind you can buy to decorate your vehicle's antennae).

Sudden Summer

Is this global warming or just Iraq? Last week I was wearing my winter coat with the furry trim and this week the temperature must be nearly 30 degrees Celsius!

Maftoul

This is another post for Saffron (formerly known as W. in Tokyo). A while ago, I went for lunch at Fairuz, a newish Lebanese restaurant in Hawler. Instead of ordering the Western dishes popular with locals, I ordered the day's special Lebanese dish, which I unfortunately promptly forgot the name of.

Anyway, it had these little pasta-like balls combined with chickpeas and chicken, all of which had been stewed for 4 hours. Although rather colorless,the flavor was delicate and pleasing (was it allspice?). Anyway, a little search led me to believe those little pasta-like balls were in fact Israeli (or Lebanese) cous cous (as pictured). Anyway, this recipe from Recipezaar souds like it would taste like what I had (minus the tomatoes and the chicken-browning step).

Turkey retreats...

The picture comes from an article entitled Turkey withdraws troops from Northern Iraq, military says in yesterday's Guardian.

Why add the tag "military says..."? Because like all of the news here, none of the information is clear... Turkey says they acheived thier goals and have hence gone home. Others say they left because of US pressure. A US official warns the troops have not in fact completely withdrawn... The Turks give numbers of casualties on both sides, the PKK gives different numbers. Many call the PKK terrorists... And the Iraqi Kurds believe Turkish generals are using the presence of the PKK in Iraq as a pretext to destabilise the Kurdish autonomous area. Well, at least it's clear why my students suggest the topic Turkey is targeting the KRG, not the PKK for an in-class debate.