Please look at this amazing nature of Kurdistan. This year spring was quite long and landscapes remained green until end of May. We had a chance to see beautiful open spaces with rich green grass and lots of poppy flowers.

First place which I want to show you is located near by Suleymaniah and it is called Mergapan. Please look at those amazing views! We could walk and walk for hours enjoying fresh air and warm sun, picking flowers and talking about unfortunate history of this country.

When you are far away from home kitchen or restaurant you need to be very creative with cooking. Everything is very simple but how tasty?! I wish you could smell this fried chicken with tomatoes, lemon and peppers….

Trifa forests and farming lands near by Halabja are as beautiful as mountains. My family has chickpeas plantation there and we could go almost every evening and snack fresh chickpeas and look at the sunset.

               Nature is changing now. All the green turns in to the light brown and yellow colour of burned grass. It is getting hotter and hotter so we need to hide in the shade of mountains and trees. Between the hills and mountains covered with dry grass clean and cold springs of sweet water is splashing out. The most famous place for this kind of spring water, which actually comes out from the cave in the middle of the mountain, is Ahmed Awa. Tourists from whole of the Iraq, Iran and Turkey travels here to see it and have fantastic picnic in the shade of the pomegranate and wall nut trees. Little stores here and there selling folklore gifts and local restaurant provides freshly cooked food and kebab baked on the charcoal grill. You can smell it from the far distance and there is no way like stopping by for a bite.

Kurdistan which I saw and tasted so far is fresh, crisp and surprising, so much different than places which I have seen before. I’m enjoying every minute and every day and I’m sure I will come back here again. It is hard not to get in love in this place.