Kurdish Road Trip
A little while back, I set out on a road trip through the Kurdish populated parts of our planet, hoping to nail down some photos of an old people and get a better feel on the Kurdish identity and overall culture. Upon my return, I found it's probably hard to give any definite answers. I did in conversations however get a lot of varied opinions on what makes up the Kurdish.
Counting a population of 30 millions plus, many have since the Kurdish nationality's inception about a hundred years ago, dreamt of a united people living in an independent country. With a sizeable diaspora abroad, most Kurdish today live as minorities in the territories of Turkey, Iran, Syria and Iraq where they've often found themselves at the receiving end of their host countries' heavy-handedness. The Kurdish dominated parts of Iraq were eventually granted autonomy some decades back with the help of the powers that be. But it was not before the notorious Saddam Hussein decided to go on rampage to raze their villages and kill them by the tens of thousands, also using poison gas. In Turkey, after a little-known civil war less than a decade ago, one today endures numerous heavily armed and guarded security checkpoints to and fro the various Kurdish cities; inside of which one can further witness a strong military presence, presumably kept to keep Kurdish political aspirations in check. Some I spoke to, went so far as to call it all an occupation. On the Syrian side, more or less closed off for travelers these days, the situation is not better with the Syrian leader never having had any soft spots for the Kurdish .
Needless to say, the larger Kurdistan is a political place, a place where big power politics continues showing its ugly rear end in the vying for power and control. As one man poignantly repeated the famous statement, briefly discussing the Kurdish-Turkish clashes a decade ago, geopolitics is destiny. I can't yet say if that's true or not, but there might be something to it. In this region, you find a lot of powers playing games(to the detriment of ordinary people, of course)
On the other hand, and leaving the dark side of politics aside, travel in Kurdistan is a lot more pleasant than one would expect. As Kurdish culture, similar to the Persian one makes a point to privilege the guest and treat him with hospitality, it's easy to connect and make friends with the people. Smiles and invitations to cup of teas are never far away. In fact, travelers similar to myself, commonly attest that Kurdish hospitality is indeed renowned. As one man described being taught in his childhood; a guest is the light of the home whereas in Persia, a guest is a gift from God. To be sure, a fascinating and diverse region and culture to travel, but also one that's quickly transforming.
