Sanliurfa, Turkey June 30, 2023 A few miles from Sanliurfa, among the intensively cultivated farmlands is a hill called Gobekli Tepe in local parlance which translates to bellied hill. It is here that an astonishing discovery was made almost sixty years ago, upended the then-held views on ancient megalithic structures. Excavations that followed unveiled a … More Mysterious Gobekli Tepe
Mardin, Turkey June 28, 2023 Perched on a hillock close to the border of Iraq is the town of Mardin. With craggy hilltops, one of them crowned with the old castle, it is picturesque. The old town was once completely made of honey-colored sandstone with all buildings staggering up and down the hill. The ten … More Perched Atop a Hill
Ibrahim Khalil Border, Kurdistan to Turkey June 26,2023 There are travelers who visit Kurdistan from Turkey but rarely do they go the other way from Iraq to Turkey. I was to find out firsthand why they wisely fly instead. The departure from Erbil was at 6 pm and I arrived at the garage well in … More Drama of Departure
Mosul, Iraq June 24, 2023 Taken over by ISIS on June 10, 2014, Mosul was liberated after more than three long years on July 21 2017 by allied forces of the Iraqi, Peshmerga and foreign troops. The ravages wrought by ISIS still remain, a stark reminder of the horrors of those years. Their brutal occupation … More From the Ravages of War
Qaragosh, Kurdistan June 22, 2023 From glory days of a powerful empire to the ignominy of present day is the tale of the peoples who claim descent from the Assyrians. They converted to Christianity in the early days of the religion and have a long and bitter history of persecution. Quite by chance, in chatting … More Where Have the Assyrians Gone?
Mosul, Iraq June 20, 2023 Having slowly made my way north, it is no surprise that I wanted to see the sites of the Assyrian empire – at least the ones not destroyed by ISIS. Nimrud I had read was flattened as were large parts of Nineveh. Ashur and Hatra (of the later age of … More Glory Days of Nineveh
Kifrki, Kurdistan June 19, 2023 Undaunted by our traipse over what most would call dirt hills, Lynne was game for yet more spots off the tourist trail. I had read about the Halamata Cave, especially the Assyrian bas-relief carvings dating from Sennacherib, son of Sargon II that are still in place on the sheer face … More In Search of Elusive Sculptures
Khorsabad, Iraq June 19, 2023 I had met Lynne in the transit lounge at the airport, waiting on my flight to Baghdad almost a month ago. We jabbered the entire flight and stayed in touch. Lynne lives and works in Mosul and was a willing partner-in-crime to my odd notions of places to visit. It … More Dar Sharrukin
Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan June 18,2023 Leaving Erbil, soon the road winds through the hills as I approach Sulaymaniyah. On either side of the road are fields. Some have been harvested and some are lush with crop. The Saray Square, probably an old caravanserai, both from its name and the typical layout is locked as I peer … More In Sulaymaniyah
Erbil, Kurdistan June 16, 2023 The distance from Baghdad may not be all that much but this feels like a different country. There are broad streets with multiple lanes of fast traffic. Tall buildings line the roads, slick and modern with its glass and chrome. Glitzy shops and malls crowd the pavements. Erbil is new, … More Arrival in Kurdistan
ITCHY FEET TRAVELS 