Tigris River, Mosul Dam, Iraq (from Zawa Mountain). September 2018 So close, so far In my two years in Duhok I lived less than one hour...

Teahouse view, Duhok Dam. September 2018 Running from a teahouse to an accident: why I never drove a car in Iraq For my first few months...

Zawa Mountain, Duhok. August 2018 How Zawa Mountain saved me during the pandemic lockdowns Duhok City sits in a mountain valley in the...

Rooftop Bar, Dilshad Palace Hotel, Duhok. October 2019 Everyone needs to unwind An enterprising young Lebanese Christian, RA, saw the...

Fish restaurant, Zawita, Duhok, Iraq. September 2018 Only 20 minutes from Duhok by highway lies Zawita. Similar to Duhok, the original town is just under a cleft in the Zagros mountains that forms a pass for travelers headed onward to Amedi {See: Amedi }. Zawita has a higher elevation than Duhok and is the beginning of the remaining green in those mountains. Today Zawita's main claim to fame is a series of fish restaurants built right into the sides of the mountain wher

Efes Beer Cafe, Nohadra, Duhok. December 2018 Culturally appropriate bar snacks and bootleg whisky Efes Beer Cafe in Nohadra - a lot of...

Bapir Restaurant, Sulav Old City gate November 2019 Hadi's Insider Tour of Amedi HB, one of my students, invited me on a crisp November weekend day to visit his family hometown of Amedi. Amedi is nearly mythical in both its appearance and history. It doesn't even look real approaching it from a distance and more recalls a fort from Rajasthan, India than a Kurdish citadel in northern Iraq. Add to that, no one really knows who exactly built Amedi, only that "it is extrem

Duhok Dam, Duhok, Iraq. November 2019 Duhok is a walkable city. Five years in Abha, Saudi Arabia made me appreciate any city that...

Pira Delal, Zakho, Iraq. November 2018 Bridges and History A few months after arriving in Duhok, my boss, Khedir Ramazan, drove my...

Rixos Hotel, Duhok, Iraq. November 2018 Coffee on Friday mornings, ex-pat Kurds, dangerous franchising Friday in the Middle East is the...