Barzan-land

And from Amedi, instead of turning back and going home the same way we came, we decided to forge onwards... leading us through Barzan - more than just a pleasant picnic spot. We passed a hill with three fabulous mansions on it - perhaps homes of the members of the Barzani family - Kurdistan's ruling family... 

A few minutes later, our vehicle stops at the side of the road and I wonder where we are and why we have stopped, but all 3 of my traveling companions seem to know. They take me past some men who give me a scarf to cover my hair with and lead me past the board below. Mu stops to have his picture taken with the honorable Masoud Barzani's father, Mustafa (right), and Nechirvan's father, Idris (left). A few steps further and we are standing at their graves. All the men stop to say a prayer at the mounds with stones at either end and a line of pebbles down the centers of the mounds. Then I return the borrowed scarf and we pass by a memorial which is being built...
... and climb a few steps to the grassy area where tea is being served. Our host, who speaks excellent Turkish, speaks with the men in Turkish and Badini. Then he demonstrated how to tie his impressive 9-meter-long cummerbund (which he insisted was tied NOT in a method specific to Barzan, but rather the traditional method).
After a few glasses of tea (which I shouldn't have had given that after Barzan, there is nothing but road and trees for hours), we departed and drove past those mansions and a lot of little stone outposts (below) - so much more attractive than the little square shacks provided the peshmerga at checkpoints! Could it really be true that these were for government employees employed to ensure that nobody was poaching (game or trees!) in Barzan?