We wanted to know the Iranian Kurdistan, a very special region that requires time and patience. The connections between people are not ideal due to the mountainous topography of the place.
Kurdistan, a region divided in 4 regions belonging to Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. They have their own language and culture. They represent approximately the 10% the Iranian population. Linguistically they may come to understand between different regions, Although with some dialectal differences.
The relationship of the region with the rest of the country is not, far, the ideal. The policemen and Iranian military as some animals is described. Police checkpoints are multiplying in the Kurdish region.
Periodically there are demonstrations and small clashes between the population and the central Government, Although the region is stable, is safe to visit but I recommend get information updated in your Ministry of affairs external.
Before coming to power the Islamic Khomeini leader, the population drank alcohol and women not wearing the headscarf. I must also say that there is the liquor smuggling and self-made.
More drivers who do their job seems to be in front of a cinema screen, watching the road, answering all messaging phone, eating pipes and making reckless manoeuvres at the wheel. The minibuses are fragile boxes of matches conducted by mindless, but this is not an exception in the region, is common throughout the country. In India for example, drivers slow down before the proximity of passers-by, not in Iran, you accelerate so that you turn you, with all the danger that this implies, We have suffered in our meat fearful Iranian driving.
On the bus we met a nice couple, so hospital that is pawned in provide us our stay while were with us. They made us a tourist tour of Marivan and the next day took us with your vehicle to the remote village of Howraman, also known as Uraman.
The region that retains more fervently Kurdish culture is also the most mountainous. Although the distances are relatively small time to reach them is high, It takes patience and many hours of transport. Kurds people raised on the border with Iraq are very interesting and its generous people. Depending on the time of year it is possible to shorten the path from a village to another, so I recommend going early summer to save time.
The smugglers used the least controlled border roads to bring Iran products such as tobacco and clothing. They use their SUVs to travel back roads and avoid checkpoints.
There are many interesting villages to discover in the Iranian Kurdistan with the Iraqi border, Since it is a very large region, among them are Howraman, Palangan, Paveh ( pronounced/paue / ), Kandovan...
It is still possible to see traditional life in these places, I say yet because in spite of the scarce foreign tourism, national tourism that it is massive. This is due to the little purchasing power of the majority of the population, When he occasionally travels abroad having as main destinations China or Turkey, affordable destinations.
I recommend visiting the market of Sanandaj, Although it is a city, the majority of the population is Kurdish and dresses can be seen of traditional form and characters of diverse cultures.
Women wear colorful way, some with bright, Unlike the totally black savannah that dressed up in most parts of the country.
Men, but not all, dress with very baggy pants. This garment is very cool because it does not come into contact with the skin and air can circulate inside.
Some towns, for example Howraman, It retains the style of original life Kurdish, the men wear a very typical jackets in winter, with a few peculiar horns on the shoulders. His vocabulary is full of words to other Kurds because they forgot, They speak the Orami.
Most villagers live as small boxes of matches made of adobe and must be periodically repaired. They repair them after rainy season, When is the mud wet, Add more adobe and smooth it with a heavy cylindrical stone.
In Kurdistan, as in most of the country, marriages are concluded. This means that parents agree to the marriage.
Sex only are permitted within marriage. Yes women, as it happens sometimes, access relationships, It is customary to be rejected socially and by their potential future husbands. A rather discriminatory situation for women, then reverse the man would be not rejected.
Iranians enjoy these Kurdish enclaves, sections of the center of the country, but not to its ancestral culture, but their beautiful tracts of land where they can make picnics. The tasty fish Kurdish is also famous among Iranians, especially the trout.
You can see all the images to full screen in the Photos section.