The Jewish synagoge of Qamishlo in Syria
On one of my recent trips to the Kurdish self-administered parts of Syria – better known as ‚Rojava‘ – my local fixer told me something …
A landfill bringing Iraqis together, one garbage truck at a time
Many people probably never ask themselves where all the garbage in a city like Erbil ends up. Since there is no power or recycling plant …
Nowruz celebrations in Akrê, Kurdistan
Newroz or Nowruz (meaning „New Day“) is the New Year’s Day in the Persian calendar. The festival of Nowruz is celebrated for a variety of …
The former US embassy in Tehran, Iran
Recently, I was taking a stroll around central Tehran, when I found out by accident, that the former US embassy site, which was the focus …
Hezbollah’s Ashura in Beirut
On October 12th, tens of thousands of people gathered for Ashura in Beirut, the highest holiday in Shia Islam. As usual, the ceremonies take place …
The Jewish cemetery of Cairo, Egypt
One of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in the world is located in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. Before Israel was founded, Egypt had a flourishing …
The Jewish cemetery of Khartoum, Sudan
Very close to the central bus station, south of Souq al-Araby, Khartoum still has a tiny Jewish cemetery. The graveyard features no more than maybe …
The cemetery „Behesht-e Zahra“ in Tehran, Iran
The central cemetery of Iran’s capital Tehran, is not only the biggest cemetery of the country, but also one of the biggest cemetery of the …
Lalish – Yazidis‘ home
I recently visited Lalish, the center of the Yazidi religion that came to fame after the Islamic state persecuted the approximately 650.000 members of this …
German Army training the Peshmerga in the Kurdistan Training Coordination Center
Today I visited the German army a second time in the Zeravani compound east of Erbil to do an update about the training they do …