Pertek (Pêrtag): A Castle by the Lake
Pertek (Pêrtag), a Kurdish town in the Dersim region on the Keban reservoir — famed for its medieval castle that now rises from an islet in the lake.
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Takht-e Soleyman: An Ancient Sanctuary in the Kurdish Highlands
Takht-e Soleyman, the ancient Sassanid sanctuary and crater lake in the Kurdish highlands of West Azarbaijan — a great Zoroastrian fire temple and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Read article →Palu (Palû): A Citadel on the Euphrates
Palu (Palû), the ancient Kurdish citadel town on the Murat river in Elazığ Province — a place of Urartian inscriptions and a heartland of the 1925 Sheikh Said uprising.
Read article →Lake Dukan: The Great Lake of Kurdistan
Lake Dukan (Daryaça Dûkan), the largest lake in Iraqi Kurdistan — formed by the Dukan Dam on the Little Zab, a source of water and power and a beloved mountain retreat.
Read article →Gercüş (Kercews): A Town on the Edge of the Tur Abdin
Gercüş (Kercews), a Kurdish town on the southern edge of the Tur Abdin in Batman Province — a quiet district of vineyards, stone villages, and layered heritage near Hasankeyf.
Read article →Midyat: Heart of the Tur Abdin
Midyat, the golden-stone town at the heart of the Tur Abdin in Mardin Province — a cradle of Syriac Christianity and a meeting place of Syriac, Kurdish, and other communities.
Read article →Sason (Sasûn): A Mountain District of Many Memories
Sason (Sasûn), a rugged Kurdish mountain district in Batman Province — once a famous Armenian stronghold, now a remote highland of forests, honey, and layered history.
Read article →Hilvan (Curnê Reş): A Kurdish Town North of Urfa
Hilvan (Curnê Reş), a Kurdish farming town in the north of Şanlıurfa Province near the Atatürk Dam — a tribal town of the uplands between Urfa and the Euphrates.
Read article →Suruç (Pirsûs): A Kurdish Town Facing Kobani
Suruç (Pirsûs), a Kurdish town on the Şanlıurfa border plain facing Kobani — a refuge during the battle for Kobani and a town that has known both solidarity and sorrow.
Read article →Tuz Khurmatu (Dûz): A Town of the Disputed Territories
Tuz Khurmatu (Dûz), a mixed Kurdish, Turkmen, and Arab town in the disputed territories south of Kirkuk — a contested but resilient community of northern Iraq.
Read article →Adıyaman (Semsûr): A City on the Kurdish Edge
Adıyaman (Semsûr), a Kurdish-populated city in south-eastern Turkey near the Commagene monument of Mount Nemrut — an ancient land devastated by the 2023 earthquake.
Read article →Kurtalan (Misirç): The End of the Line
Kurtalan (Misirç), a Kurdish town in Siirt Province and the south-eastern terminus of Turkey’s railway — namesake of the Kurtalan Express and a rail gateway to the south-east.
Read article →Tillo (Aydınlar): A Kurdish Town of Knowledge
Tillo (Aydınlar), a historic Kurdish town of scholarship in Siirt Province — home of İbrahim Hakkı, his teacher İsmail Fakirullah, and a famous equinox light marvel at the tomb.
Read article →Hajij (Hecîc): A Stairway Village of Hawraman
Hajij (Hecîc), a terraced “stairway” village of Hawraman on the Sirwan river in Kermanshah Province — part of a UNESCO World Heritage landscape of Kurdish mountain culture.
Read article →Bismil: A Tigris Town of the Diyarbakır Plain
Bismil, a Kurdish town on the Tigris in the fertile plain of Diyarbakır Province — a major farming centre in the ancient heartland of the upper Tigris basin.
Read article →Şemdinli (Şemzînan): A Frontier Town of the Kurdish South-East
Şemdinli (Şemzînan), a remote Kurdish town in the mountains of Hakkari Province near the Iraq and Iran borders — a frontier town of the Kurdish south-east.
Read article →Deralok (Dêralok): A Mountain Town on the Great Zab
Deralok (Dêralok), a small Kurdish mountain town on the Great Zab river in Duhok Governorate — part of the rugged Badinan highlands of northern Iraqi Kurdistan.
Read article →Sahneh (Sehne): A Kurdish Town of the Tanbur
Sahneh (Sehne), a Kurdish town in Kermanshah Province, Iran — a heartland of the sacred tanbur lute and the Yarsan faith, on the old road past Bisotun.
Read article →Harir (Harîr): A Plain on the Road to the Mountains
Harir (Harîr), a Kurdish town and fertile plain in Erbil Governorate — a historic way-station in the foothills on the road from Erbil up to Rawanduz and the Soran mountains.
Read article →Siverek (Sêwregi): A Zaza and Kurdish Town by Karacadağ
Siverek (Sêwregi), a large Kurdish and Zaza town in Şanlıurfa Province below the Karacadağ volcano — a deeply traditional town in the cradle of wheat farming.
Read article →Erciş (Ercîş): A Kurdish Town on Lake Van
Erciş (Ercîş), a Kurdish town on the northern shore of Lake Van — an ancient lakeside settlement that rebuilt after the devastating 2011 earthquake.
Read article →Doğubayazıt (Bazîd): The Palace Below Mount Ararat
Doğubayazıt (Bazîd), the Kurdish town below Mount Ararat famed for the İshak Pasha Palace — an ornate 18th-century complex on the frontier between Anatolia and Iran.
Read article →Khanzad Castle (Qela Xanzad): The Castle of a Kurdish Princess
Khanzad Castle (Qela Xanzad) near Erbil — the fortress of Lady Khanzad, the Kurdish princess of the Soran emirate remembered as a rare woman ruler and warrior.
Read article →The Qandil Mountains (Çiyayê Qendîl): Kurdistan’s Mountain Stronghold
The Qandil mountains (Çiyayê Qendîl), the remote range on the Iraq–Iran border that is Kurdistan’s great mountain refuge and the longtime stronghold of the PKK.
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