Erbil, Kurdistan Region...

I'm being drug out the door so that I don't miss my PSD for R&R. Oh yeah, in case I didn't mention yet, I'm headed to Sydney Australia. I'm pretty excited and franklyI need it. Baghdad is nice right now and relatively quiet, but I need to see green grass, normal people (no M9s or M14s) and have a beer that doesn't taste like it has been on a shelf for 30 years...not that I'm complaining of course; beer is beer!

Trip to Erbil

This picture above was taken at an antique shop which sits in the Citadel. We visited this historical site during a visit to Erbil which is the capital city of the Kurdistan Region. The Citadel is this massive compound that was built in layers over archaelogical ruins of several consecutive settlements which rises out of the center of the city. Even though the Citadel lays in ruins compared to the rest of the city, it has been continuously inhabited for more than 6000 years. The goverment is working to restore or at least put it to some use, but as a rule there is always one family living inside.

For those interested in learning a little bit, do yourself a favor and google Erbil (Arbil) and the Kurdistan Region. It was during the mid-late 1980s that Saddam began an aggressive genocide campaign, called al-Anfal Campaign, on the Kurdish people. This 3 year campaign saw the elimination of 4000 villages and an estimated 170,000 deaths. As a result of the Persian Gulf War in 1991, Saddam retreated but instituted very strict embargos against the north with the intent of starving the people to death. And because Kurdistan is technically part of Iraq, they were also impacted by the UN's embargo against Iraq. But, as I learned this week, these are a very strong people. Even after 3 decades of domination by Saddam, the UN and its own parliment, the region is the most progressive in all of Iraq. One can ride around freely and enjoy the shops, restaurants, and even a stroll down the street.

Oh yeah, I couldn't resist. I bought the sword.