Nearly daily clashes in northern Duhok province have left local populations afraid to leave their villages, even to tend their livestock, a local chieftain said on Saturday.
“Forty-something people in our area have been martyred for no reason and people are afraid to go out in their villages, even in Deraluk. In spring and winter, people tend to go out more often around the Deraluk subdistrict for some tea with their families… even this is dangerous now,” Tahir Rashaveyi, chieftain (mukhtar) of Rashava village told Rudaw on Saturday.
His village is located in the Amedi district of northern Duhok province where Turkish forces and the #Kurdistan Workers’ Party# (PKK) frequently clash.
Rashaveyi said the situation started deteriorating four or five months earlier and now there are airstrikes, shelling, and machine gun fire almost daily.
“There is heavy fighting in our area. Our people are very afraid, especially women and children,” he said.
Most of the villagers work as farmers, but are too afraid to tend to their herds or lands. Up to 50 villages along the road from Shiladize to Deraluk have been affected, according to the chieftain.
More than 500 villages in the Kurdistan Region have been emptied due to the conflict between Turkey and the PKK, a Kurdish armed group that has bases in the mountains of the Kurdistan Region.
Founded in 1978, the PKK initially called for the establishment of an independent Kurdistan but now calls for autonomy. The group is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey.
Turkey began intensifying its decades-long war against the PKK in Duhok province last summer, looking to secure the border region.
In November, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler said that the army had “secured” the key Zap area, which was one of the last remaining routes for the PKK to move from the Kurdistan Region into Turkey.[1]

Two human settlements and a pot that dates back to around 8,000 years ago were found in #Duhok# province’s Rovia subdistrict on Thursday.
The sites, named Gre Asngaran and Kani Aspahan, were excavated by a joint team of Kurdish archeologists and a team from the University of Udine in Italy, according to a statement from the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) municipalities and tourism ministry.
Archaeologists from Duhok’s archaeological directorate and the Italian University of Udine work in collaboration on the two sites.
The pot was used for cleaning wheat.
Two dwelling rooms that seem to have belonged to social members of the community were also found in Gre Asngaran.[1]

Saeed Barani has been researching, collecting, and protecting valuable Kurdish cultural objects for over 31 years.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A man in the Kurdistan Region's #Duhok# province has dedicated his life to protecting Kurdish cultural heritage artifacts, collecting about a thousand cultural items.
Saeed Barani has been researching, collecting, and protecting valuable Kurdish cultural objects for over 31 years.
The number of cultural artifacts collected by Barani has reached one thousand pieces.
At first, he had no place but his house, so he turned his house into a museum for such cultural objects, and now he is protecting these artifacts in a humble corner of the Youth and Sport center in the town of Bardarash.
Saeed Barani has been researching, collecting, and protecting valuable Kurdish cultural objects for over 31 years, August 15, 2022. (Photo: Kurmanj Nhili/Kurdistan 24)Saeed Barani has been researching, collecting, and protecting valuable Kurdish cultural objects for over 31 years, August 15, 2022. (Photo: Kurmanj Nhili/Kurdistan 24)
Barani told Kurdistan 24 that he was always fascinated by Kurdish cultural heritage but in 1976 he visited the Mosul museum and that’s when he first had this idea of collecting and protecting cultural objects.
There are two reasons that led Barani to spend the past 31 years collecting and preserving Kurdish cultural artifacts.
The age of technology and globalization has endangered cultural artifacts of which many ceased to be used and some had undergone changes over time.
The number of cultural artifacts collected by Barani has reached one thousand pieces, August 15, 2022. (Photo: Kurmanj Nhili/Kurdistan 24)The number of cultural artifacts collected by Barani has reached one thousand pieces, August 15, 2022. (Photo: Kurmanj Nhili/Kurdistan 24)
During Saddam Hussein's genocide campaigns many villages of the Kurdistan region were destroyed, very few artifacts survived and in around 100 villages of Bardarash, many artifacts persisted.
After the Kurdish uprising in 1991, Barani had the opportunity to work and start his journey of finding Kurdish cultural artifacts and finding a place for them to be protected.
He would visit villages and collect culturally valuable objects that were no longer used and on brink of extinction.
Among artifacts protected in the museum is a traditional bracelet that is 149 years old.
Each artifact has a different story, for instance, a pair of women's shoes is kept inside, 80 years ago a man in Bardarash traveled a thousand kilometers buying that pair for his fiancé.
Quern-stone, Kurdish traditional clothes of old styles, rugs, pottery, old vase, kitchen utilities and farming equipment, and many more decorate Barani’s museum.
There were efforts by the directorate of culture and art in Duhok to construct a museum in Bardarash, but they didn’t bear fruit because of the fight against ISIS in 2014 and the financial crisis that ensued.
Barani hoped that work can restart on the construction of such a museum so that he can find a more proper spot for these valuable artifacts in the Bardarash area.
One must protect his past in order to have a clear future ahead,’ said Barani.[1]

Having been a farmer since 1976, Bageri has over 5000 grapevine trees of 50 various types, he told Kurdistan 24 on the sidelines of the fair.
Duhok (Kurdistan 24) – Regarded as an exceptional farmer, a grape grower in Duhok has produced 50 types of grapes on his farm.
Abdulrahman Sleman Bageri has been participating in the annual agricultural fair specifically catered for marketing grapes and honey in Duhok for 15 years. Each year, he is recognized for having the best quality of grapes.
This year's fair, held on Sunday, was attended by Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) President Masoud Barzani, who toured around the stands to closely hear the farmers about their products.
Having been a farmer since 1976, Bageri has over 5000 grapevine trees of 50 various types, he told Kurdistan 24 on the sidelines of the fair.
Locally produced grapes on display in Duhok province, Sept. 25, 2022. (Photo: Kurmanj Nheli/Kurdistan 24)Locally produced grapes on display at the 15th Grape and Honey Fair in Duhok province, Sept. 25, 2022. (Photo: Kurmanj Nheli/Kurdistan 24)
Explaining that the heaviest grape cluster on his farm weighed six kilograms.
First, he started farming by using traditional methods. As times passed and received help from experts and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), he made use of new farming techniques and knowledge that have proved to be helpful.
According to Abdulrahman, the grapes he cultivates, some are indigenous and some foreign; include Bageri, Rasha Bageri, Khatini, Misa Beg, Hajazi, Kamali, Abasi, Tayfi, Yaqoti, Zark, Hilwani, Baid Hamam, as well as Red Globe, French, German and Russian types.
The most demanded types of indigenous grapes are Zarik, Rashmiw, Tayfi and Kamali. Local people usually go for the grape that has a bigger shape. Bageri's favorite type of grapes is what is called Princess.
Each type can have a slightly different price. This year, one kilo of Tayifi grape is sold for 700 to 500 IQD (0.34$-0.47$), Kamali for 1100-600 IQD (0.74$-0.40$), Zeytoni for 1100-900 IQD (0.74$-0.61$).
Duhok province has become Iraq's and Kurdistan Region's center for producing large quantities and best-quality varieties of grapes, as farmers increasingly utilize the favorable conditions for growing the grapevine across the province.
The Duhok Agricultural Directorate figures show that in 2021, the province produced over 77,000 tons of grapes, but this year the drought that hit the region has to some extent negatively affected the quantity and quality of such fruit.
People visit the 15th Duhok Grape and Honey Fair in Duhok province, Sept. 25, 2022. (Photo: Kurmanj Nheli/Kurdistan 24)People visit the 15th Duhok Grape and Honey Fair in Duhok province, Sept. 25, 2022. (Photo: Kurmanj Nheli/Kurdistan 24)
Five million square meters of land in the province are currently planted with grapevine trees.
Besides being eaten as a tasteful fruit, raisin juice is also among the go-to refreshments for many Duhok residents, increasing the demand for the fruit further.
Recognizing the increasing popularity and cultural significance of the fruit tree, Duhok governorate has used grapevine leaf in its logo.
Abulrahman said that the farmers in Duhok produce five times more than the need of the province, so the opening of factories and cold stores as well as facilitation in exporting of grapes is a necessity.[1]

Antimicrobial Resistance Rates in Gram-positive Uropathogens in Duhok city, Kurdistan.
By: Alan Ali Mohamed
Department of Medical Health Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Zakho, Kurdistan Region,Iraq
[1]
=KTML_Link_External_Begin=https://www.kurdipedia.org/docviewer.aspx?id=586004&document=0001.PDF=KTML_Link_External_Between= Click to read: Antimicrobial Resistance Rates in Gram-positive Uropathogens in Duhok city, Kurdistan Region of Iraq=KTML_Link_External_End=

Title: Displacement as Challenge Opportunity - Duhok Governorate 2016
Publisher: UNHCR
Release date: 2016.[1]

Asur Kralı Sanherib’in Güney Kürdistan’ın Duhok kentine bağlı Çemco bölgesindeki mağara üzerindeki kabartması günümüze kadar varlığını sürdürmüş muhteşem bir tarihi eser.

Güney Kürdistan’da Asur dönemine ait onlarca tarihi yer çatışma bölgesi olması nedeniyle büyük bir tehdit altında. Binlerce yıldır korunarak bugünlere gelen tarihi yerler bugün gelişmiş teknolojik silahlar karşısında yok olma tehlikesi ile yüz yüze.
Güney Kürdistan’ın Duhok kentine bağlı Amedî ilçesinin Şeladizê kasabasının Çemco bölgesin ve aynı ismi taşıyan Çemco Nehri kenarındaki Asur Kralı Sanherib’e atfen yapılan taş kabartmalar ve bir kaya üzerine oyulmuş kaya tapınağı 2 bin 700 yıl öncesine tarihleniyor. Bu kaya tapınaklarının ön Hristiyanlık döneminde ilk Hristiyan halklara da bir sığınak olduğu tahmin ediliyor.
Tapınak düz bir kaya üzerine muntazam bir şekilde oyulumuş. Yine Kralı sembolize eden kabartmalar bulunuyor.

Kralı Sanherib kimdir?
Zalimliği ile nam salmış Asur Kralı Sargon’un oğlu ve halefi Sanherib (hükümdarlığı MÖ 704 - MÖ 681), kral olur olmaz Kimmerlere karşı sınırlarını korumaya çalıştı. Mezopotamya'nın diğer büyük gücü Babil ile ölüm-kalım savaşına girdi ve zaferle çıkmayı becerdi. Babil'in istilasıyla beraber Asur, doğal sınırlarına ulaşmış oluyordu.
Suriye'nin güneyindeki Yahudi krallıklarına saldıran Sanherib, buraları işgal ederek yağmaladı. Bu hareketi Yahudiler ve onların ardılı Hristiyanlar tarafından hatırlanacak ve dini öykülerdeki zalim Mezopotamya kralı imajına katkıda bulunacaktı.
Savaşçılığın yanı sıra Sanherib sanata da önem vermişti. Savaş esirlerini çalıştırarak başkent Ninova'yı tapınaklar ve ihtişamlı eserlerle doldurmuştu.
Rivayete göre eski çağlarda suyun yüksek yerlere taşınmasında kullanılan ve Babil'in Asma Bahçeleri'ni olanaklı kılan Arşimet burgusunu da Sanherib icat etmiştir. Kral Sanherib, Nisrok'un tapınağında ibadet ettiği sırada oğulları Adrammelek ve Şaretser tarafından öldürülmüştür.[1]

Güney Kürdistan’ın Duhok kentindeki Çarstûn Mağarası’nın tarihi 3 bin yıl gerisine gidiyor.
Duhok kentine 2 km mesafedeki Çiyayê Spî (Beyaz Dağ) eteklerindeki Çarstûn Mağarası’nda Zerdüşt inancı dönemine ait kalıntılar bulunuyor. Bazı Tarihçilere göre ise mağara, Hitit dönemi tanrıçası Anahita atfen inşa edilmiş bir tapınak.
Çarstûn Mağarası’nın yakınında eski döneme ait olduğu tahmin edilen bir de mezarlık bulunuyor. Mezarlıktan biraz aşağıda ise demir ile çeşitli madenleri ertimek ve dövmek için kullanılmış bir taş yer alıyor.

Mağaranın yakınında ayrıca ateşgeh olarak kullanılan bir kaya parçası bulunuyor.
15 metrekare genişliğinde ve 2 metre yüksekliğindeki Çarstûn Mağarası’nın ismini mağarada dört sutun üzerine kurulmuş odalardan alıyor. İki su kaynağının arasındaki bir arazide yer alan mağaranın uzun süre yerleşim ve ibadethane olarak kullanıldığı belirtiliyor.

Mağaranın M.Ö 1000’li yıllarda Zerdüşt tapınağı olarak hem yaşam ve hem inanç merkezi olduğu tahmin ediliyor.
Mağarada ateş yakmak için bir ateşgeh ve ayine katılacak inanları alacak genişlikte bir alan ve mağara duvarının yontulmasıyla oluşturulmuş oturma bölümleri bulunuyor. Ateşgehin siyah renge bürünmesi mağarada çok sayıda ayin düzenlendiğine işaret ediyor.

Mağaraya doğal ışığın gelmesi için dışarıya açılan muntazam şekilde oyulmuş dört köşe bir penceresi var.
Çarstûn Mağarası Kürdistan Bölgesi hükümetinin girişimiyle, biri 1999 biri 2013 tarihlerinde olmak üzere iki kez restorasyondan geçirildi.[1]

Duhok bajarek pir ji bedewî li Başûrê Kurdistanê
Sîpan Sofîzade

Navê #Duhok# ji çi ve hatiye?
Derbarê navê Duhokê nerînên cuda hene, lê ya ji herî bi navûbang ew e ku “Duhok” bi wateya “du çiya, yan du hik e”, navê Aşûrî yê bajar jî “Nuhedra” ye.
Duhok ji sê alî ve bi çiyayan hatiye dorpêçkirin, ku çiyayê Sipî li bakurê bajar, çiyayê “Zawa” li başûrê bajar û çiyayê “Mam Sên” li rojhilatê bajar hilkeftin e.
Herwisa em dikarin bêjin aliyê rojava yê bajar jî dikeve bo aliyê deştên çandinî yên Sêmêlê. Gelek şûnwar li vê navçeyê têne xuya ku yek ji girîngirînê wan şikefta “Çar Sitûn” e ku dikeve ser çiyayekê li navçeya Bendav a Duhokê.
Çendîn eşîre li vê navçeyê jiyanê dikin, girîngtirînê wan “Mizûrî, Zêbarî, Berwarî û Kugar” in û gelek eşîretên dinê têne dîtin ku ji eşîreyên kevnar in û resm û adetên xwe diparêzin ku ji bav û bapîran ve ji bo wan bi mîran maye. Rûniştiyên navçeyê ser bi sê olên Îslam, Xirîstiyan û Êzidî ne.
Bajarokên parêzgeha Duhokê pêk tên ji “Duhok, Zaxo, Sêmêl, Akirê, Şêxan, Berdereş û Amêdî”, tev ew bajarokane hin gundan ji xwe digirin û gelempera rûniştiyên parêzgeha Duhokê digihîje “1,423,114” kesî.
Ev bajare her ji berê ve yek ji navçeyên bazirganî yên Aşûr bûye, paşê Kurd li wir hêdî hêdî nîştecih bûne. Niha xelkê Duhokê hemû Kurd in û bi zaraveyê Kurmanciya Serê diaxivin.
Dîroka bajarê Duhokê vedigere bo çend hezar sal
Beriya zayînê, di bajar de “Kurd, Êzidî, Kildanî, Aşûrî û Ermenî” jiyan kirine. Sala 1991an di encama êrîşa esmanî bo ser bajarê Duhokê tevahiya rûniştiyên vî bajarî ev der bi cih hêlan.
Herwisa xelkê bajarê Duhokê bi wê yekê hatine naskirin ku xelke nasiyonalîst in û şanaziyê bi netewa xwe dikin û gelek kesên şoreşvan û qehriman tê de hilkeftî ne.
Ewa ku cihê balkêşandinê ye, Duhok wekî derbasgehek bazirganî di navbera Îran, Iraq û Sûriyê de ye û wekî deriyekê ye ji bo Başûrê Kurdistanê û ew yeka jî di tomarên dîrokî de tê xuya.
Şûnên geştiyarî yên Duhokê
“Pira Delal” li Zaxoyê û dikeve parêzgeha Duhokê û yek ji pirên kevnar ên dîrokî ye, piştî wê yekê jî çiyayê “Gare” ye ku ew jî bi navûbangtirîn çiyayê Duhokê ye û 2,151 metre ji asta rûyê deryayê bilind e .
Serê çiyayê Zawa û geliyê Duhokê du cihên geştiyarî yên nêzî vî bajarî ne ku dikevine hêla panî “43.20 û 44.10” a rojhilatê û hêla bazneyî ya “36.40 û 37.20” a bakur.
Ev bajare xwedanê dehan mêvanxane, xwardingeh û motêlan e û mozexaneya şûnwarî û kultûrî û mozexaneya kultûra Êzidiyan jî li vî bajarî hilkefî ne. Herwisa bajarê lîstin, bazara serdem û baxçeyeke piçûk a ajelan heye û çendîn navendên rewşenbîrî li wir hene û zanîngeha Duhok û Amerîkî li Duhokê jî du navendê mezin ên zanistiyên vî bajarî ne. Sînorê parêzgehê xwediyê çendîn cihê geştiyarî û şûnwarên dîrokî ye.
Duhok di warê av û hewa de
Duhok wek bajarên din ên derdora xwe keş û hewayek çar demsalî heye, havînên wê navçeyê wek germahiya deryaya navîn e. Havînên germ û bê baran, zivistanên sar û baran heye.
Baran di mehên sar de zêde ye, di dawiya zivistanê û destpêka biharê de barana herî zêde dibare.
Li bajar berf bo heyama du yan sê rojan dimîne, li deverên bilind û çiyayan jî bo heyamek dirêjtir befr dimîne, di dawiya payîzê de baraneke zêde di vê naçeyê de dibare.
[1]

Sardar Sattar
Last December, more than 300 artists and film critics arrived in Kurdistan to gather for the 2022 edition of a prestigious international film festival in Duhok, a city that has not only hosted the event for the past 12 years but also sheltered nearly one million Syrian refugees and Iraqi displaced families since 2014 when the Islamic State (#ISIS# ) took over swaths of territories in Iraq and Syria.
The theme of this year’s Duhok International Film Festival was thus “migration,” to bring attention to the suffering of migrants and refugees to artists worldwide and, more importantly, the international community and global policymakers.
What made this year’s event unforgettable was screening several films inside the Domiz 1 Camp. A few days before the opening ceremony, a large inflatable screen, projector, and roughly 200 red velvet theater seats were installed in a hall, transforming it into a temporary cinema for residents of the refugee camp. The hall had originally been used for weddings and funerals – this time it was to witness the excitement of young boys and girls born as refugees who were experiencing real cinema with massive screens and high-quality sound systems for the first time.
Located on the outskirts of Duhok, Domiz 1 Camp is home to over 30,000 Syrian refugees making up 7,200 families. Duhok province to date hosts more than 250,000 refugees and internally displaced persons (IDP).
The city has made a name for itself after welcoming waves of desperate families looking for refuge in the Kurdistan Region after IS emerged in Syria and crossed into Iraq in 2014. Shawkat Amin Korki, the artistic director of Duhok International Film Festival, said in a recent interview that they decided to screen some of the Kurdish feature films in the Domiz 1 camp in order to create a bridge between refugees and the festival.
With millions of Ukrainians scattered around Europe and millions more around the Middle East still risking their lives to reach Europe, Korki said that the global challenge of migration inspired this year’s festival. “Because of all the things that have happened in this part of the world, because migration has been steadily rising in recent years, because in our region there are many refugee and displacement camps, because of the war in Ukraine, migration is a universal theme,” Korki said.
The festival had other, unforeseen joys for some living in the region’s camps. With the festival attracting many foreign and Kurdish filmmakers to Duhok in recent years, many have returned to shoot movies in the area’s stunning nature, offering opportunities for some to play roles in different films and connect with well-known local and international directors and producers.
The Duhok International Film Festival features several categories that accept films from all over the world. Every year, films from the festival’s Kurdish and World Cinema Competition are up for several awards.
Winning films are chosen by the section jury and awarded with 18 different titles in different competition circles including World Cinema, World Documentaries, World Shorts, Kurdish Cinema, Kurdish Documentaries, Kurdish Shorts, NUHAT, Duhok City Award, and Fipresci World City Award.
Since its first edition, the festival has premiered over 1,200 films and hosted more than 1,500 guests from around the world. Its organizers have had to cancel the event twice – once in 2014 when ISIS took Mosul and announced its barbaric so-called Caliphate in Mosul only 75 kilometers away from Duhok, and then in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The festival, despite its challenges, plays a leading role in promoting Kurdistan and Duhok as locales with an international orientation and ethos and has become a registered member of numerous international institutes, organizations, and events.
Sardar Sattar is a translator and journalist based in the Kurdistan Region. He has an MA in English Studies from the University of Lodz, Poland. He has translated several books and political literature into Kurdish and English. He writes regularly for local and international newspapers and journals.[1]