Badge of Honor, Ministry of Defense, Ukraine Prologue Nohadra is the Assyrian name for Dohuk, Kurdistan, Iraq. This place has been around...

May 2019 In my search for good coffee in Duhok, I eventually ended up at Cafe au Lait. Among all the coffee shops I had tried, it became my favorite. WMF, my bartender bestie, told me that one of his regular customers, Mustafa, had opened a coffee shop with his Filipina wife. Mustafa was Iraqi Arab and lived in Duhok. He had met his wife while she was working on a contract there. They were a very interesting couple to say the least. I was still in Duhok when they had t

December 2019 May 2020 Upon arriving in Duhok I was happy to find that my new digs were close to the Rixos Hotel which had decent coffee in its bar/coffee shop overlooking the city. [see: Friday morning coffee ] However, the Rixos was a five-star hotel with prices to match and I longed for a real coffee shop. Luckily, the librarian at American University of Kurdistan, told me of a place called "Buon Gusto" that was in reasonable walking distance of my room. Not only that

July 2020 very old Sultana Mahdokht (died January 12, 319) was the daughter of Pholar, the Prince of Dorsas. Together with her brothers Adorfrowa and Mehrnarsa, Mahdokht is a canonized saint in all branches of the Church of the East due to her and her brothers' execution on January 12, 319 A.D. for leaving the Zoroastrian faith at a time when apostasy was punished by death under Shapur II. All branches of the Church of the East commemorate their feast day on January 12. They

Tahina factory....amazing place. Fresh tahina is nothing like the stuff you get in stores. There are people literally queued up the road...

Al Roof Restaurant, Gali Duhok. September 2019 Ironically, a relative of the owner of the Rooftop Bar [see: Rooftop Bar], Ryan, opened a...

Bus from Baghdad Duhok Zoo. September 2018 [from FB post: September 7, 2018] The Bus to Normal People come to Duhok from all over Iraq...

From the Albertina Collection, Vienna. May 2019 Lalish Yazidi Temple, Duhok Province June 2020 [from FB post: May 3, 2019] Revan At...

National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC December 2021 “And then I felt sad because I realized that once people are broken in certain ways, they can't ever be fixed, and this is something nobody ever tells you when you are young and it never fails to surprise you as you grow older as you see the people in your life break one by one. You wonder when your turn is going to be, or if it's already happened.” - Doug Coupland [from FB post: April 26, 2019] It is taking a lot of time

Ofelia Restaurant and Cafe, Duhok, Iraq. April 2019 [from FB post: April 6, 2019] On the topic of "don't judge too quickly" I was having...

WMF's Balcony. June 2020 How did I make it through the worst of the COVID lockdowns? Luckily, in Duhok, Iraq there were very few...

Lobby, Dilshad Palace Hotel, Dohuk. January 2019 Another coffee venue Like the Rixos Hotel [see: Friday morning coffee], the Dilshad...

Duhok February 2019 The hegemony of the national dish Having lived a large portion of my life overseas, food traditions played a big...

Zawita, Duhok, Iraq. September 2018 When I was a kid, Mom would take me over to Kauffman's bakery in East Prospect as a treat. I loved...

Kebab Shalin, Duhok, Iraq. December 2018 Mrishk or gohsht? The first kebab I ate in Duhok was at Shalin Kebab. I discovered it walking...

Barzani Building, American University of Kurdistan, Semel, Duhok. December 2019 Not a love-fest After Saddam Hussein declared war on his...

Rooftop View, Duhok. February 2020 Zawa Mountain from my rooftop, Duhok. February 2020. [from FB post: February 11, 2020] Three inches...

Vegetarian pizza, Ofelia, Geshtiyar, Duhok. January 2019 Geshtiyar (Kurmanji Kurdish: the tourist) and the others One of the first...

Flag Mountain, Duhok. April 2019 Climbing Flag Mountain with Taha My shoes finally wore out in Duhok with all the walking I had done. I...

Breakfast, Rixos Hotel, Duhok. September 2018 Turkish breakfast - lots of little bits Even though I was in Iraq in the Kurdish region,...