Arriving at the small hotel I had booked in Tbilisi Georgia, I fell into conversation with the young man on reception. When I asked him how many languages he spoke he listed Georgian, Russian, English and Kurdish. Surprised, I spoke to him in Kurdish, which surprised him even more. As it turns out he is part of a small Georgian Kurdish population. I knew there had once been a substantial Armenian Kurdish population (now largely assimilated into the general Armenian society), but I had never heard of Georgian Kurds.
Even more intriguing is that his family, who owned the hotel, are Yazidis, that strange blend of Zoroasterian, Islamic and Christian traditions and that there is even a small Yazidi Fire Temple in Tbilisi. The young man's great ambition was to visit the Lalish Fire Temple in Kurdistan.
After that conversation we were just the best of friends. I am not a believer in Fate, but Kurds and I have some odd invisible attraction.
Even more intriguing is that his family, who owned the hotel, are Yazidis, that strange blend of Zoroasterian, Islamic and Christian traditions and that there is even a small Yazidi Fire Temple in Tbilisi. The young man's great ambition was to visit the Lalish Fire Temple in Kurdistan.
After that conversation we were just the best of friends. I am not a believer in Fate, but Kurds and I have some odd invisible attraction.
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