The Botan Valley: Gorge of the Bohtan Country
The Botan Valley (Çemê Bohtan), the deep river gorge of south-eastern Turkey that named the historic Kurdish emirate of Bohtan — a heartland of Kurdish culture, history, and white water.
Read article →Kurdish History Journal
Kurdish History and Resilience
Articles filed under Kurdish History and Resilience.
The Erbil Citadel: The Oldest Inhabited Place on Earth
The Erbil Citadel (Qela’y Hewlêr), the great ancient tell above the city of Erbil — possibly the oldest continuously inhabited place on earth and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Read article →Lake Urmia: The Great Salt Lake
Lake Urmia, the vast salt lake of north-western Iran beside the Kurdish highlands — once among the largest in the Middle East, famous for its red waters and islands, now struggling against shrinking.
Read article →The Great Zab: River of the Kurdish Mountains
The Great Zab (Zê), a major mountain river of the Kurdish highlands — carving dramatic gorges from eastern Turkey through Iraqi Kurdistan to the Tigris, and site of the famous 750 AD Battle of the Zab.
Read article →The Karaftu Caves: An Ancient World in the Cliff
The Karaftu Caves, the ancient multi-storey rock-cut cave complex in the mountains of Kurdistan Province, Iran — carved over millennia and bearing an ancient Greek inscription.
Read article →Baba Gurgur: The Eternal Flames of Kirkuk
Baba Gurgur, the eternal natural-gas flames near Kirkuk that have burned for millennia — a place of ancient legend, and the birthplace of the great Kirkuk oilfield in 1927.
Read article →Mor Gabriel Monastery: Ancient Heart of the Tur Abdin
Mor Gabriel Monastery, the ancient Syriac Orthodox monastery of the Tur Abdin near Midyat — founded around 397 and among the oldest working monasteries in the world.
Read article →The Zeynel Bey Tomb: A Tower of Blue Tile at Hasankeyf
The Zeynel Bey Tomb, the 15th-century cylindrical tiled mausoleum of Hasankeyf — built for an Aq Qoyunlu prince and moved to higher ground to escape the rising Tigris reservoir.
Read article →Mount Safeen (Çiyayê Sefîn): The Ridge Above Shaqlawa
Mount Safeen (Çiyayê Sefîn), the long mountain ridge above Shaqlawa north-east of Erbil — a great Zagros crest of orchards, springs, and cool retreats in the Kurdish highlands.
Read article →Lake Darbandikhan: A Reservoir in the Mountains
Lake Darbandikhan, the great reservoir on the Sirwan river south-east of Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan — a dam for water, power, and flood control, and a scenic mountain escape.
Read article →Alqosh: An Ancient Town of the Nineveh Plains
Alqosh, the ancient Assyrian Christian town on the edge of the Nineveh Plains — home of the cliffside Rabban Hormizd Monastery and the traditional tomb of the prophet Nahum.
Read article →Lake Nemrut: The Caldera of Lake Van
Lake Nemrut, the crater lake inside the vast Nemrut caldera near Tatvan on Lake Van — one of the world’s largest calderas, with cold and warm lakes (not the Adıyaman Mount Nemrut).
Read article →The Jerwan Aqueduct: Sennacherib’s Ancient Waterway
The Jerwan Aqueduct, the ancient Assyrian stone aqueduct of Sennacherib near Shekhan in Iraqi Kurdistan — built around 690 BC to carry water to Nineveh, among the world’s oldest aqueducts.
Read article →Pirmam (Pîrmam): A Hill Retreat Above Erbil
Pirmam (Pîrmam), the cool hill town on the slopes of Mount Safeen north-east of Erbil — a green summer retreat near the heights of Salahaddin and a gateway toward the mountains.
Read article →Duhok Dam: The Lake Above the City
Duhok Dam (Benda Dihokê), the reservoir in the hills above the city of Duhok in Iraqi Kurdistan — built for irrigation and water supply, and now a beloved lakeside recreation spot.
Read article →Mount Judi (Çiyayê Cûdî): The Mountain of the Ark
Mount Judi (Çiyayê Cûdî), the mountain above the Tigris in Şırnak — honoured in Islamic tradition as the resting place of Noah’s Ark, a holy peak of the Kurdish south-east.
Read article →İshak Pasha Palace: A Jewel Above Doğubayızıt
İshak Pasha Palace (Qesra Îshaq Paşa), the ornate 18th-century palace above Doğubayızıt near Mount Ararat — built by local Kurdish lords, a jewel of the eastern highlands.
Read article →Mount Süphan (Çiyayê Sîpan): The Second Peak of the Land
Mount Süphan (Çiyayê Sîpan), the second-highest mountain in Turkey — a great snow-capped volcano on the northern shore of Lake Van in the Kurdish highlands of Bitlis.
Read article →Mount Ararat (Çiyayê Agirî): The Roof of the Kurdish Highlands
Mount Ararat (Çiyayê Agirî), the highest mountain in Turkey — a snow-capped volcano over the Kurdish plains of Ağrı, fabled as Noah’s resting place and centre of the 1927–30 Ararat rebellion.
Read article →The Ten-Eyed Bridge of Diyarbakır
The Ten-Eyed Bridge (Pira Dehçavî), the historic black-basalt bridge over the Tigris below Diyarbakır — built in the 11th century by the Kurdish Marwanid dynasty.
Read article →Zerzevan Castle: A Roman Frontier Fortress
Zerzevan Castle (Kela Zerzevan), the Roman frontier fortress near Çınar in Diyarbakır — famed for its underground temple of Mithras and its walls, church, and cisterns.
Read article →The Malabadi Bridge: A Great Medieval Arch
The Malabadi Bridge (Pira Malabadê), the great 12th-century Artuqid stone arch over the Batman River — once among the widest stone spans in the world and a masterpiece of medieval engineering.
Read article →Mount Nemrut: The Giant Heads of Commagene
Mount Nemrut (Çiyayê Nemrûd), the Commagene summit tomb-sanctuary in the Kurdish highlands of Adıyaman — famed for its colossal statues and giant toppled stone heads, a UNESCO site.
Read article →Van Fortress: The Rock Citadel of Lake Van
Van Fortress (Kela Wanê), the ancient rock citadel of Tushpa above Lake Van — founded by the kingdom of Urartu nearly 3,000 years ago, with cuneiform inscriptions and the old city ruins below.
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