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.
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The archive
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.
Read article →The Delal Bridge (Pira Delal): Zakho’s Ancient Span
The Delal Bridge (Pira Delal), the historic stone bridge over the Khabur at Zakho in Iraqi Kurdistan — symbol of the city and home to the haunting legend of Delal.
Read article →Uraman Takht (Hewraman Takht): Heart of the Hawraman
Uraman Takht (Hewraman Takht), the historic terraced village at the heart of Hawraman in western Iran — famed for its stepped stone houses and the ancient Pir Shalyar ceremony.
Read article →Kalar (Kelar): Capital of the Garmian
Kalar (Kelar), the Kurdish capital of the Garmian region in southern Iraqi Kurdistan — home to Sherwana Castle of the Jaff, in a land scarred by the Anfal genocide.
Read article →Palangan: The Terraced Village of the Kurdish Mountains
Palangan, the historic terraced Kurdish village in the Shaho mountains of western Iran — famed for its stepped stone houses climbing a green river gorge.
Read article →Sheikhan (Şêsan): Heartland of the Yazidis
Sheikhan (Şêsan), the Yazidi heartland of northern Iraq — home to the holy valley of Lalish and to Ba’adre, seat of the Mir, the prince of the Yazidis.
Read article →Piranshahr (Pîranşar): A Mukriyan Border City
Piranshahr (Pîranşar), the Kurdish border city of the Mukriyan in north-western Iran — a Sunni Kurdish trade gateway to Iraqi Kurdistan, marked by the kolbars and the 2022 protests.
Read article →Elazığ (Xarpêt): The City of Harput
Elazığ (Xarpêt), the eastern Turkish city below the ancient citadel of Harput — a mixed region with Kurdish and Zaza roots and links to the 1925 Sheikh Said rebellion.
Read article →Shaqlawa (Şeqlawe): A Kurdish Mountain Resort
Shaqlawa (Şeqlawe), the Kurdish mountain resort town of Iraqi Kurdistan — a green valley of orchards and springs between Safeen and Korek, with a mixed Kurdish and Christian heritage.
Read article →Sarpol-e Zahab (Serpêl): Ancient Reliefs on the Kurdish Border
Sarpol-e Zahab (Serpêl), the Kurdish city in western Iran beneath the 4,000-year-old Anubanini relief — a frontier town struck by the Iran–Iraq War and the 2017 earthquake.
Read article →Javanrud (Cuwanro): A Kurdish Town of the Kermanshah Highlands
Javanrud (Cuwanro), the Kurdish town in the Kermanshah highlands of western Iran — a Sunni Kurdish community known for its role in the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests.
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