Pictures of Kurdistan

Lake Dukan, the largest in Iraqi Kurdistan. There was no one else around

Sulaymaniyah and its surroundings

Cave in the Zagros mountains

Taken in the Zagros mountains. The road just ends

I broke with tradition and paid for a night’s accommodation. The manager of Erbil’s Sulaymaniyah Hotel makes up for the view with his hospitality. Also, you can buy simits on the corner. Don’t expect to see any other women in the city centre after dark

Hillside village somewhere in northern Erbil province

Dohuk at night

Somewhere in Dohuk province as the sun sets

Taken from a mountain that was once only accessible to Saddam

As flags go, the Kurdistan one looks pretty friendly

… and can be found everywhere, including on the mountains themselves

Continuing my tradition of photographing lovestruck graffiti everywhere. I think this was the only English graffiti I saw other than a few misspelled tributes to 50 Cent

I acquired a kid brother, pictured here with Simsim (‘sesame’) the dog

Outskirts of Sulaymaniyah

Demonstrators in support of the PKK’s Abdullah Öcalan, Sulaymaniyah

Square in the centre of Sulaymaniyah, site of recent – and ongoing – anti-government demonstrations

[More pictures & stories can be found in If Destroyed Still True #6: Iraqi Kurdistan Edition]