March 16, 1988. Bloody Friday. That was the day the worst chemical attack against a civilian population was carried out. The Iran-Iraq War was drawing to an end, but the Al-Anfal campaign by the Iraqi Government to eradicate the Kurds was still ongoing. Two days after the town Continue reading “Site 208: Iraq’s Halabja Memorial”
If Iraqi Kurdistan has a well-known site, besides Erbil Citadel, it is Sulaymaniyah’s Amna Suraka Prison, aka the Red Prison. It’s so named because of the colour of the bricks that the buildings were constructed of. From 1986 until 1991, when the prison was overtaken, Continue reading “Site 207: Sulaymaniyah’s Red Prison”
Travelling through the ‘Stans was like walking through a living history book, but going to Iraqi Kurdistan meant going back in time further still. In terms of religions, there were Zoroastrians, Yadzidis, Jews, Christians, and Muslims, and even early on in my trip, Continue reading “Site 206: Iraq’s Rabban Hormizd Monastery”
stone and dust 