Lalish: The Sacred Heart of the Yazidi Faith
Lalish, in northern Iraq, is the holiest sacred valley of the Yazidi faith and home to the tomb of Sheikh Adi. Discover the spiritual heart of Yazidism.
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The archive
Qewls: The Sacred Hymns of the Yazidi Faith
Qewls are the sacred hymns of the Yazidi faith, sung by hereditary qewwals and carrying its oldest teachings. Discover the Yazidi tradition of the holy word.
Read article →The Yazidi Creation Myth: The Pearl, the Bird and the Making of the World
The Yazidi creation myth begins with a white pearl and a primordial bird. Discover how God, the Seven Angels and Tawuse Melek shaped the world.
Read article →Tawuse Melek: The Peacock Angel in Yazidi Kurdish Mythology
Tawuse Melek, the Peacock Angel, is the foremost holy being of the Yazidi faith. Discover the truth behind the Peacock Angel and the false devil-worship myth.
Read article →Meme Alan: The Oral Legend Behind Mem u Zin
Meme Alan is the oral Kurdish epic behind Mem u Zin, sung by dengbej for centuries. Discover the folk legend of fairies, a magic horse and star-crossed love.
Read article →Mem u Zin: The Greatest Kurdish Love Epic Explained
Mem u Zin, Ehmede Xani's 17th-century epic, is the great Kurdish love story and national allegory. Discover the tale of the lovers parted even in death.
Read article →Sahmaran: The Kurdish Serpent Queen of Wisdom and Betrayal
Sahmaran, the half-woman half-snake queen of Kurdish folklore, is a symbol of wisdom, healing and betrayal. Discover the legend of the serpent queen of Mardin.
Read article →Zahhak: The Serpent-Tyrant in Kurdish and Iranic Mythology
Zahhak, the snake-shouldered tyrant of Kurdish and Iranic myth, fed human brains to the serpents on his shoulders until Kawa and Fereydun overthrew him.
Read article →Newroz and Kurdish Mythology: Fire, Freedom and the Defeat of Tyranny
Newroz, the Kurdish New Year, marks Kawa's defeat of the tyrant Zahhak. Discover the fire, the legend and why it became a symbol of Kurdish freedom.
Read article →Kawa the Blacksmith: The Kurdish Hero Who Defeated Zahhak
Kawa the Blacksmith led the revolt against the tyrant Zahhak and lit the first Newroz fire. Meet the Kurdish hero behind the New Year and his legend.
Read article →Kurdistan: The Mountain That Fed the World
The Kurdish mountains (Taurus and Zagros) are at the centre of the Fertile Crescent — the origin zone of wheat, olive, fig, grape, and the pistachio genus. 151 articles documenting the Kurdish kitchen: the oldest continuous food culture in the Fertile Crescent zone. The mountain that fed the world.
Read article →The Kurdish Table at the End of the World: Food, Memory, and the Kitchen That Cannot Be Erased
The Kurdish kitchen survived suppression, displacement, and exile because food cannot be confiscated. One hundred and fifty articles document what the Kurdish mountains gave the world and how the Kurdish people carried their table into every exile. The Kurdish table does not empty.
Read article →Kellep aça: The Amed Dawn Soup and the Last Part of the Lamb
Kellep aça (kelle paça) is the Kurdish lamb’s head and trotter soup of Amed (Diyarbakır) — cooked overnight for 6–7 hours and served before sunrise to laborers and workers. Listed as a traditional Diyarbakır dish. The humblest expression of the Kurdish nose-to-tail tradition: büryan glorifies the carcass; kellep aça honours the head.
Read article →Karpûz: The Amed Watermelon and the Tigris Gardens That Grow It
The Amed (Diyarbakır) watermelon — karpûz — grows in the UNESCO-listed Hevsel Gardens along the Tigris and reaches 50 kilograms. Turkey produces 20% of the world’s watermelons, centred on Diyarbakır. A Kurdish brand internationally, celebrated at an annual festival since 1960. The sweetest fruit of the Amed summer.
Read article →Kurdish News Weekly: Eid Tourism, Rojava Representation, and the Peace Process Debate
This weekly Kurdish news roundup covers Kurdistan Region Eid tourism, Iraq’s armed-groups debate, Syrian Kurdish representation concerns, Öcalan’s call for a legal framework in Turkey’s peace process, human-rights pressure in Rojhelat, and renewed discussion of U.S.-Kurdish policy.
Read article →Tirêya Hov: The Wild Grape of the Zagros and the Vine That Fed the World
Tirêya hov (wild grape, Vitis vinifera sylvestris) grows in the Zagros mountains of Kurdistan Province, Rojhelat. Grapevine domestication began 6,000–8,000 years ago in the Taurus/Zagros/Caucasus zone. The world’s oldest wine evidence comes from Hajji Firuz Tepe in the Kurdish Zagros foothills (5,400 BC). Every bottle of wine in the world descends from this Kurdish wild vine.
Read article →Tirê Hov: The Kurdish Wild Grape and the Mountain Where Wine Was Born
Tirê hov (wild grape, Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris) grows in the Zagros and Taurus mountain forests of Kurdistan — the wild ancestor of all cultivated grapes. The Grape’s Fertile Triangle, where wine was born, is centred on the Kurdish mountain heartland. Genetic studies confirm wild grape populations in Kurdistan Province among the world’s most diverse.
Read article →Giya: The Kurdish Mountain Herbs and the Dried Pantry of the Zozan
Giya is the Kurdish mountain herb tradition — wild herbs gathered from the zozan highland pastures of the Zagros and Taurus, dried in shade, and stored for use in tea, stews, cheese, and winter cooking. Ethnobotanical research documents 54 wild plant taxa gathered by Kurdish foragers. The aromatic wing of the Kurdish preserved pantry.
Read article →Şekirklo: The Kurdish Sugar Candy and the Sweetness That Opens Every Door
Şekirklo (klo) is the Kurdish homemade sugar candy — caramelised sugar cut into cubes, often with sesame or walnuts, served with tea as the opening gesture of Kurdish welcome. In Kurdish hospitality, sweet things come first. Şekirklo is the first taste every guest receives, the smallest and most direct expression of Kurdish hospitality.
Read article →Helise: The Kurdish Wedding Wheat and the Cauldron That Takes All Night
Helise (keşkek) is the Kurdish wedding wheat — whole wheat berries and lamb cooked overnight in huge cauldrons, then beaten with wooden mallets at dawn until silky. UNESCO-recognised, specifically documented from Ağrı (Kurdish Agiri, Mount Ararat) and across Bakur. The final article in the Kurdish wheat trilogy.
Read article →Firik: The Kurdish Green Wheat and the Fire That Makes It
Firik (freekeh) is the Kurdish green wheat — durum wheat harvested young, fire-roasted so only the chaff burns, and cracked into a smoky, nutty grain. From the Kurdish southeast of Anatolia (Bakur), it is an ancient grain dating to 2300 BC, used in soups and pilafs. The companion to genim: same wheat, caught in the fire.
Read article →Saqez: The Kurdish Wild Mastic and the Zagros Tree That Weeps Resin
Saqez is the wild Kurdish mountain mastic — aromatic resin from Pistacia atlantica trees in the Zagros mountains of Rojhelat. Still an important commodity in Kurdistan Province, it is harvested as natural chewing gum, burned as incense at Kurdish celebrations, and used in traditional medicine. The Zagros wild pistachio ancestor.
Read article →Rob-e Hînar: The Kurdish Pomegranate Molasses and the Stew of Walnuts
Rob-e hînar (pomegranate molasses) is the Kurdish condiment made from boiled-down pomegranate juice — sweet-sour, dark, and intensely flavoured. Produced in the Kurdish orchards of Halabja and Horaman, it is the key ingredient in xorsht fesenjan, the great walnut and pomegranate stew of Rojhelat Kurdish cuisine.
Read article →Mîvanperwerî: The Kurdish Art of Hospitality and the Table That Never Empties
Mîvanperwerî is the Kurdish art of hospitality — guest-nurturing — expressed through food, time, and the table that never empties. It is the ethical foundation of the Kurdish kitchen: a guest must be fed, and it is shameful not to serve them well. The central principle of Kurdish food culture.
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