We departed from Halabja early in the morning and drove slowly towards the Federal Iraq border. At Kalar, we made a short stop at Sherwana Castle, built in the 18th century by a Kurdish pasha serving the Ottoman Empire. And then, we quickly visited the nearby Garmian Civilization Museum...
Halabja is a very ancient town, dating back to the Lullubis era. The ancient city of Khar Khar (2000 BC) is believed to be today’s Halabja. In 641, the Islamic Army freed the town from the Sassanid Empire and became a part of the Muslim Empire. During the Abbasid Caliphate, between...
We made a short stop in the small town of Byara in eastern Kurdistan, located on the Iran border. The Byara district is a nature haven with waterfalls and picturesque mountain peaks. In Byara are many ancient shrines and well-known Madrasa (Islamic school) from which many renowned Islamic...
Our next stop was Al-Sulaymāniyyah, a city in northeastern Iraq in the Kurdistan region close to the Iranian border. The town lies on the Tānjarō River and the lower slopes of the Azmar Dāgh range. It experiences severe temperature extremes in summer and winter. While economic and...
We got nasty weather in the late afternoon, so we decided to stop in the mountains at a great picnic spot on our way to Sulaymaniyah. It is well hidden from the main road, with fantastic panoramic views. Unfortunately, the weather was even worse in the morning, so our drive through the...
In Erbil, we exchanged money (500 EUR / 803000 IQD) and took a diesel at our favorite North Light Oil station (1350 IQD / liter). Then we started our long scenic drive through one of the most beautiful regions of Kurdistan. We drove around Koya, surrounded by the Bawaji and Haibat Sultan...
We drove one hour with our guide Othman from @visitmosulofficial to Hatra (🎫 25000 IQD). It is a ruined city in the Al-Jazīrah region, 290 km northwest of Baghdad and 110 km southwest of Mosul. It was s religious and trading center of the Parthian empire. It flourished during the 1st and...
After some research and heavy thinking, we drove to Mosul in northwestern Iraq. From its original site on the western bank of the Tigris River, the modern city expanded to the eastern bank and now encircles the ruins of the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh. Probably built on the site of...
We spent a few days in Erbil, one of the most ancient cities in the world, dating back at least to 2300 BC. Erbil has long been an important trade center, and It has been inhabited, over the millennia, by the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Mongols, and Ottoman Turks. It was already an ancient...
Khanzad Castle, also called Banaman Castle, is located on the road between Erbil and Shaqlawa. It was constructed during the time of the Kurdish Soran Emirate in the 16th century under the rule of Princess Khanzad and her brother Prince Suleiman Beg. For seven years, she ruled over two...