Zawa Mountain, Duhok. August 2018
How Zawa Mountain saved me during the pandemic lockdowns
Duhok City sits in a mountain valley in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains. On the south side of the city, a flat topped ridge, Zawa Mountain, defines one edge of town. Newer housing developments are slowly pushing up the mountainside, but Zawa still towers above them. The mountain slopes gently opposite town, but drops off as a series of cliffs on the north side facing the city. A small, switchback road leads to the top and Zawa is a popular place day and night for Duhokis to relax and enjoy an overlook of both their city and the Mosul Dam reservoir to the southwest.
I visited the top of Zawa many times with different friends at various times of day and in every season. The view never disappointed and Duhok always looked so peaceful spread out below:
Duhok view from Zawa Mountain. September 2018
Into the cliff faces below were carved the cave tombs of a few minor Assyrian kings as ancient Nineveh, now Mosul [see: Mosul Dam], was just a short drive away. A cable car was built (but only started to operate after I left) to whisk people from town right to a new cafe/restaurant on top of the mountain. There were places to drive a car off road at night for young people seeking some romance. The cliff edge was lined with plastic chairs and tea sellers hawking their hot, sweet brew along with boiled beans as a snack. The place had something for everyone. Before the pandemic hit, I thought it was a pleasant place to cool off in hot weather and get a nice view of the city. During the rolling lockdowns, however, Zawa became much more to me.
My apartment was just below Zawa Mountain. I had a stunning (but incredibly dirty) view of the mountain from my kitchen window. If I crossed the main road near my place and continued walking "up", I quickly ran out of city and was on the slopes of the mountain. During the lockdowns we were not supposed to go outside except for urgent necessities. Well, escaping going crazy in my small apartment was "urgent". My place was on the edge of town with very little police presence (and a big supermarket which I could always claim to be going to or from) so it was quite easy to walk about 10 minutes and suddenly be in the rocky meadows overlooking Duhok. Most importantly, I was alone. I was social distancing in the extreme.
I climbed up and down the entire side of the mountain facing town from April till June (after which it got too hot and there were snakes). I discovered natural caves, springs, and even small farmhouses in small clefts right under the mountain. I was amazed that all of this existed just a short hike from my apartment. Most of the time I walked to a high point, sat down, rested and contemplated how weird life had become during the first months of the pandemic. I tried to find WMF's house in the center of town and then when I visited him later I would point out from his balcony which place I had walked the day before. I never realized until that time my insatiable need to get outside in fresh air and walk.
I absolutely loved those walks even in the strange setting of the start of the pandemic in Iraq. I found it ironic that I had lived there nearly two years and never once thought to walk up the side of the mountain. Prior to that, all my walking always took me into town to a cafe or a bar. Even late in life I learned the lesson that one should take the time to explore immediate surroundings - there might be a beautiful place right under our noses!