A love letter to the Kurdistan Region, from an American immigrant

Times of Israel ^ | 2020 | Levi Meir Clancy

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Six years ago, I moved to Erbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq…To be honest, my decision was not about “what” brought me here — I simply knew.

When I was a teenager, I had to take a history course to fulfill some lower-division requirements for my degree…On a whim, I chose a course on the history of writing in Mesopotamia. One day I went to class and suddenly it dawned on me: “This is my life.”

There are some personal things - like the way I wake up and have tea and look out the window…there are the national treasures — ancient ruins, and natural wonders — which attract visitors from all over the world.

In the wintertime there are the hot, tangy specialties served from carts along the road. I love cozy cafes, and the thrill of going new places with friends. I love seeing thousands of apartments skyrocket from dusty grounds - two-lane roads are replaced by massive highways. I love when the mosques are packed with crowds during Ramadhan, and the Assyrian neighborhoods send off fireworks for Cross Day. I feel overcome by emotion by every joyful holiday…

There are many reasons I love living here. But the main reason, truly, is the people.

When I am far away from the Kurdish society, it feels like something is missing. The main reason why I stay grounded and optimistic about life in the Kurdistan Region, and why I yearn to get back every time I am away, is fundamentally the people.

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TOPICS: Travel
KEYWORDS: erbil; iraq; kurdistan; kurds; mesopotamia

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Erbil caught my attention when I noticed the stunning backdrop and bustle behind an Iran War correspondent reporting from there. Erbil is 60 miles away from Iran.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Is that a Mariachi band between those water fountains?

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Traditional Kurdish band:

[ConservativeMind]

I'm for bombing the Kurds that stole the guns we airdropped for them to give captive Iranians.

They agreed they would do this.

They all lied.

[alexander_busek]

I'd like to know the author's ethnic background. Is he, e.g., a Black American? A practicing Jew? A practicing Christian?

I'd like to know if he'd still be singing their praises if he was one of those things.

Regards,

[Governor Dinwiddie]

The Kruds are liars? Say it ain't so!

All the Krud in the Middle East ain't worth a bucket of warm spit.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

I looked up Erbil and found the article, but it’s from a few years ago. So geopolitics has worsened, which is a shame. There are some YouTube videos of British and American tourists exploring it recently though.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

The string instrument is called kemenche their main percussive is daf and there was apparently an all female resistance rock band in the 80s called Khanzad.

[MotorCityBuck]

Oh darling.
How cute.🥰 😂

[Dartoid]

If this is the same man, and it appears to be, he was expelled.

https://theinsightinternational.com/american-jewish-man-levi-2022-02-21

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Found this update:

https://www.qesher.com/iraqi-kurdistan/

[Fledermaus]

That is untrue. We decided to not send the weapons.

[MotorCityBuck]

No. I think it’s Led Zeppelin…

https://youtu.be/PD-MdiUm1_Y