Germany

We stayed in Germany for less than a day, with my cousin and his family. My cousin is Kurdish like me, but his wife is German. He has lived in Germany about ten years, in a little town near Koblenz. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koblenz)

Flying over Germany, seeing the clouds below you rather than above you never gets old:

My cousin told us some disturbing things about germany. Apparently a good chunck of Germany sympathized with Hitler, and thought he had the right idea. They dont like Non-Germans living in their country. In some parts of Germany, there are hate crimes and homicides towards non Germans regularly. He said some friends of his in those parts of Germany dont go out at night, for fear of not returning home. The German police have tried to combat it, but the sheer number and disguise of these people is too much. My cousin said his town was fine though. In some parts of Europe they are still not used to Muslim women wearing the hijab, so we got a few more stares than we are used to.


The town:

My half German cousins:

The autobahn we drove on, no speed limit!

Windmills everywhere:

We got back to Frankfurt airport, this is part of an expansion, its a terminal designed like a ship:

Our flight took off at 1:05 pm, and on August 12th at 8:30 pm we arrived back in Columbus.

Leaving Silemani

On August 9th, we headed west towards Arbil, or Hawler, the capital city of Kurdistan. Our plane took off from the airport there at 4:30 on August 11. The drive to Hawler is very scenic and beautiful, it made the three hours a little easier to bear.

This is one of the most notorious prisons in the region, its a U.S. prison for Iraqi terrorists, located an hour west from Silemani:

This is a part of one of the largest bodies of water in Kurdistan, called Dukan:

We took the trip with two of my cousins, Hamawand and Zana. Hamawand got a really sweet SUV that we rode in, and my other cousin Zana drove the pick-up with all our suitcases:

These were little vacation cabins on a mountain overlooking a small town that many people come to vacation for, its a very beautiful place:

Leaving the town:

Houses in the neighborhood we were staying in, in Hawler:

This is a mosque in Hawler, one of the last things we saw before leaving the city:

2 days later we were off in the sky looking down:

Funny/awful conversations

Me "Bawar you just put that shirt on why'd u throw it over there?" "Its dirty. I mean really really dirty." Me "You havent even gone outside! How can it be dirty after 5 minutes??" Bawar "Ok look, when I was in the bathroom my pee got on the collar, ok?" Me "What?? how? ...nevermind."

Bawar:'DAAAADDDD come here I think my poop is bad, it looks wrong! Am I sick? OMG AM I GONNA DIE??" "Dad: "Yes, u are."

My cousin Ashna (father of 3, taxi driver):

"Shine, I really want you to die while you guys here. I've always wanted to truly mourn someone, and miss them because they are no longer on this earth. I want to tell people that my cousin came back from America, and then died. But dont worry, I swear I will pay an imam $5 every month to come and read Quran at your grave. Muhammad, would you cry if shine died?"
Muhammad: "Uhh Yes, a lot."
Ashna: "Why, she's just your sister jeez"


My uncle promised to quit smoking during ramadan. On the secxond night, hes sitting in a corner smoking. My brother is sitting next to him:

Me: "What r u doing??"
Uncle: "What? nothing, im just sitting here"
Me: You have a cigarette in your hand, I thought you stopped!
Uncle: I did! Its not me! Bawar just wanted to light it and play with it! I swear!

Grampa: Shine, Im going to tell you to do something, and you have to listen to me.
Shine: Uhh depends on what it is.
Grampa: You cant go back to America. You have to stay here, and get married, move in with us, and take care of me until I die.
Shine: Grampa I cant do that. Im in school, and I have a few years left, and Americas my home, I cant just stay here.
Grampa: I dont care. You have to stay here. Its what I want so you have to listen to me.
Shine: Grampa I dont think my mom would like that very much.
Grampa: Yes she will, she's my daughter, and you're my grandaughter, I like her more than I like you, thats why Im not making her stay.
Shine: Ohh. Still, I cant do that, sorry.

2 hours later

Grampa: Shine, why wont you stay and do what I told you? it sounds like a great life, you should be honored.
Shine: "I just cant Grampa, I have to go home."
Grampa: Shine why dont you want to get married here? huh?
Shine: Because I dont know any of the people you suggested, and Im too young to get married.
Grampa: Too young?? you're 20! You're getting wrinkles! Your grandma was 15 when I married her!
Shine: uhhh sorry Grampa.

Compare and Contrast

These are pictures that compare and contrast the way Silemani has modernized the past decade, but how certain elements wills till never change.

New, modern roadways built in the past 3 years:

Messed up roadways not yet redone, in the car repair area:

New shopping center:

One of the older shopping area's in bazar, shops and cart vendors:

New food, pizza and shawrma:

Traditional Kurdish food, lamb skins stuffed with biryani (not eaten very much anymore):

New dessert:

Traditional Dessert:

Typical Bazar Trip

Going to bazar is more than just a shopping trip. Its an experience that stimulates all the senses. You see more than you think your eyes could all in a fast paced setting, you hear the sounds of thousands of shoppers, vendors, shop-keepers, cars, and music. You stop for milkshakes, juices, cokes, pastries, and custard to refuel, and with things being so inexpensive, even the shopper with not very much money can have a wonderful trip.
Many shop owners take close shop around 1 or 2 to go home and eat or take a nap. They are all usually back by 4. The most croded and busy time for bazar is around 5 or 6 PM.
This is one of our typical bazar trips.

We drove our own car here so we arrived early so we can get a spot at a parking garage, with bazar being so crowded there isnt much room for many of them. This is a typical parking garage:

This was an electronics store, full of ipods, phones, DVD's, CD's, high quality headphones, and much more. The shop owner went home for his midday break, and this is how he closed shop..with a broom,and nothing else:

This is one of the many bakeries, the bread comes out of the over and onto this table, very fresh:

Stopping to eat balava on top of custard, very delicious combination:

Our favorite street food is Kalan, which is chopped green onions in this flaky naan lathered with butter and sometimes sugar. They have a naan grill right on the cart to grill it with, so its super fresh:

Statue of Lion at the entrance of Kaso mall, a mall built by the Chinese right in the middle of bazar:

Inside Kaso mall:

Fruit:

Want fresh chicken? Pick one out and they'll have it ready in an hour:

Textiles and Tailors

Up until about ten years ago, most of the clothes people wore were made exclusively for them by tailors. In bazar, there are huge fabric shops with every kind of fabric imaginable. A lot of the fabric sold here is for Kurdish clothes, which many people still wear daily in the villages, unlike in the city where people only wear them to parties or other special occasions. The textiles for Kurdish clothes are often shiny, sparkly, bright, and colorful.

Tailors used to sew clothing for very cheaply. You would buy two or 3 yards of fabric for a dress for about $8, then the tailor would sew it up for you with your own sizes for about $5. Things are are about double that price now, but its still doable.

Most people nowadays, however, buy their clothes already made. Most of the clothing here comes from China or Turkey. Businessmen come up with designs they know people will wear, fly over to China to meet with partners, then get factories to make these clothes. Clothes are cheaper here than the U.S. but the quality is not as good. You can get a pair of jeans for $10 in most places, a shirt for $7 or so.

The new malls here have made deals with certain apparel companies, like Nike, and have now set up shop here. The sell their items for about the same price as in the U.S.

Kurdish clothes fabric:

Normal clothes fabric:

I never thought I'd se this here, desi clothes at the thrift area in bazar:

Our tailors shop: