Snow

Finally the snow storms that have buried Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel under heavy snow have swept across Kurdistan.  The mountains and the high hills surrounding the city are thick with snow but for most part the city has remained clear, though it is wet and cold at just 4c at mid-day, with more rain and snow predicted.

It really is time to head home!!

Mam Jalal lives...

Late last year Jalal Talabani, President of Iraq and the leader of the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) suffered a massive stroke and was sent to Germany for treatment. Affectionately known as 'mam Jalal' (Uncle Jalal), all sorts of rumours began circulating when the press had great difficulty obtaining any information on his condition. In particular there were no photos and only a small select few were allowed to see him. With a regional government election in September, the rumours only intensified to the point that many thought him either in a coma or already dead and that this was covered up to ensure a good election result (as it was PUK was hammered in the polls).

Last night a local TV station broadcast photos of very much alive and considerably slimmer Jalal with his wife Hero.

It wasn't long before PUK supporters were out celebrating. Salim Street was packed with horn honking, flag waver drivers and in the best Kurdish tradition there were constant volleys of celebratory gunfire.

The cold night drove most people off the streets by midnight, but the gunfire continued into the early hours of the morning.

Who lives here?

At almost every level, the Slemani Province outperforms all of Iraq. Life expectancy for men is the highest at 71 years, while the next door Kerkuk Province is the lowest at 62. Only 2% of people here live below the poverty line, literacy is the highest and more women work here than anywhere else. In a recent survey, Kurdistan takes better care of Syrian refugees, than any other country.

That said there are many very poor people here. In the building under construction next door, the workmen also live in the site, even though it is just concrete block with no windows and doors. At least it dry.

Who lives here?

Earlier this week I noticed an elderly Kurdish man coming of a hut in the street behind the motel. I had seen him many just sweeping the street and now I realise that he keeps the neighbourhood clean and local business and people must keep him fed and a bit looked after. He is always friendly and pleasant.

The 'hut' though was a bit of a shock - it is only 2 x 2 metres and certainly not high enough to stand up in. Along one side was a tidy bed and then just a few stacked boxes. There didn't seem to be any form of heating, but later I noticed him feeding a fire in a medal bucket.

It get cold here - this last week the weather has changed dramatically and temperatures are in single digits during the day and below zero at night. Moreover it has been raining heavily over the last week and snow is predicted tonight.

Alcohol...

For a Muslim society, the attitude here towards alcohol is extremely relaxed and reflects this city's liberalness. In fact there are no laws here at all regarding the sale of alcohol and the ONLY restriction is that it cannot be sold to under 18 year olds  (though even this is uncertain). This includes no laws relating to drinking and driving, though there is some talk of introducing some restrictions on that front. However this just applies to this province - in Hawler and Duhok provinces, the situation is much more restrictive.

In reality the use of alcohol is self regulating.  Social and official functions (eg weddings, birthdays, openings, formal dinners) never involve alcohol and most families would not allow alcohol in the house. Only very upmarket restaurants and hotels would serve drinks, and pubs as we know them don't exists. There are bars and night clubs but they are not inviting and generally the reserve of very hardened drinkers. During Ramadan most bottle stores close down voluntarily or are very circumspect about the sale of alcohol. 

Drinking is done very discreetly or in cars up on Azmar Mountain on a Friday night.  Having said all that while most people don't drink, they don't really disapprove of it either. A religious bookseller has his shop next to a bottle shop and his only comment is that 'this is Slemani'.

Consequently drunk people in public are extremely rare, though you do see the occasional alcoholic. I have never seen a drunk woman. However the liberal laws do attract Iranianz to the city as alcohol is completely banned in Iran and also visitors from other parts of Iraq where the laws are not so liberal.

One aspect of Muslim society that is very appealing is the streets are free of loud and aggressive drunks who happy one minute and looking for a fight the next. It makes for a much safer city.

As a tax free country, alcohol is very cheap - a good brand of whiskey will cost just $15, though wine is expensive in comparison, but Kurds are not big wine drinkers, preferring beer and spirits.

And you will notice from the photo that the chippy stand and the soft drink cabinet is well outside the shop and the contents easily pilfered, but that never happens. 

 

Parki Azadi

Fountain

Azadi Park is a huge public space in the heart of the city and takes its name Azadi or Freedom from the discovery of mass graves in the park after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Those buried there most likely came from Amna Suruka or the Red Fort where the Saddam regime imprisoned, tortured and murdered thousands of Kurds. A memorial remembered those who died lies at the heart of the park.

Memorial

By western standard it is a bit of a mess. I have come to the conclusion that Kurds have little experience and even less feel for recreational gardening. In a society torn apart by war for 100 years, there was little time and even less money for planting flowers or ornamental trees.



The park has the feeling of being designed by someone reading a book, but lacking any overall plan. Azadi Park has it all - formal gardens, trimmed hedges, wide lawns, ornamental ponds, a children's playground, an area for outdoor concerts and wide paths for an evening stroll. However, nothing seems to fit together and this is a tough climate for growing plants. Couch grass is everywhere and my heart went out to the elderly gardener trying to weed out the couch from a large flower bed.

Despite a huge workforce, so much is poorly maintained and they certainly have no expertise in pruning. The rose garden is weedy, the fountain doesn't work and is half dry, and many of the seats are broken. The park had lovely spreading Melia trees that were only just setting berries that have now been hacked back to bare trunks. Watering is done either by hand or by pouring water into shallow channels.

None of that bothers the locals who pack into the park on summer evenings to stroll or to attend one of the many events and concerts. 

In keeping with its graveyard tradition the recent deceased and much loved poet Sherko Bekas is now buried in the park.

Sherko Bekas Grave

The Rose Garden

Christmas in Kurdistan

Well you think in a society that is overwhelming Muslim that I would be able to escape the trappings of a Christian Christmas. No such luck. Yesterday in the Blue Cafe the staff were busy setting up a Christmas tree. All the trimmings were brand new and it was clear from the looks on the faces of those decorating the tree that the purpose of some of the baubles were puzzling.

The main Christian church for the city is not far away so maybe they were just appealing to those customers.  Jesus is also respected Muslim prophet - that might be the link.

In reality I had the overwhelming impression I had was that they just thought it was pretty.

Garden centre

I know I go on about how people here do not steal, but these photos are of a small local garden centre. The plants and pots are arranged on both sides of the footpath and at night this is not a very busy street. It would have been so easy just to pick up anything and walk off.

Not so far from here was a brick and tile plant and again all the stuff was just outside on the foot path. It is not the fear of punishment that stops people stealing, but a deep sense of shame. 

Really bad drag

Last week Kurdish security forces captured a terrorist dressed as a woman trying to enter Kurdistan from Kerkuk. The picture says it all, but no wonder he wanted to be a suicide bomber dressed like that.

Old McKurd Had A Farm

We all know about Queen Street farmers, but we have Salim Street farmers here too, but these are the real thing. In the heart of the Slemani's busiest street is an empty plot of rough land. Part of it is used as a car park, but in the middle is a low rough concrete block building, little more than a shed. It is clear that someone has not only moved into the shed but they have also settled down. There is a satellite dish on the roof and an old couch for sitting in the sun.

However, these people also have a little farm there with nearly every domestic fowl you can think of as well as rabbits. There are hens, ducks, geese and turkeys all centred on a small concrete pond. What is equally surprising is that no one bothers the animals - no nasty teenagers or kids throwing stones at the birds or stealing the rabbits that at night just sleep in open.