On a Cold October Day

I dream of white clouds 

in the shape of cotton candy 

hanging above my bed. 

I dream of fields of gold. 

And bubbles that I would blow 

So high in the air they would reach the sky. 

 This is what I feel like saying on a day like this. Because today is one of those days where you feel like going for a long walk in corn fields or along a river, but you can't. Because the weather is rubbish. And then there are other days where the sun is shining and one would thought "What a perfect day to go out and do something", but there is so much that you need to get done (such as studying, in my case). So you can't. What an irony.

However, there is always something that happens at some point that makes it all worth it in either scenarios. For me, it's a video that I stumbled upon (below). It may sound silly ("a video?"), and when you'll have viewed it, you may not understand, but this video moved me. Maybe it's the song (Julia by the Beatles), maybe it's Priscilla Ahn's soothing voice, maybe it's the different clips that show beautiful sceneries. Wathever it is, it made my soul travel, warmed me on the inside and put a smile on my face. I hope you are smiling too.

Show Me Your Room

The Beatles - Blackbird

My 2 fish, Dr Kovac (right) & Wrigley

A painting of mine

My ukulele, bought in a guitar shop in Manchester, UK
Candles from Ikea

Daisy by Marc Jacobs
Chloé by Chloé
Vintage box from Cachet
Mirror from Ikea

My Victoria's Secret products

The Nightingale's Journey Back To Her Nest

Kurdish song about Halabja
 
These are pictures of my trip to my hometown in Kurdistan, Iraqi part, in April 2010 (a few were taken on a previous trip in 2006). The song above is sung by a Kurdish singer/songwriter named Sivan Perwer ("Hawar, Hawar" means Shouting, crying out loud) . The song is about the genocide that took place in Halabja, a town in Iraqi Kurdistan, where the men of Saddam (commanded by Chemical Ali) attacked the entire town with chemical weapons, causing the death of five thousand people, babies, children and adults, and injuring eleven thousand more. This massacre was recognised as "genocide" by the Iraqi High Criminal Court in early March 2010.

from Wikimedia

from nijmannews.org

  There is also a poem that I particularly like and that I'd like to share here. It's called "Who am I" and written by Kurdish poet Cigerxwin, here's the English translation :

"I am in the east,
forts and castles
towns and hamlets,
rouks and boulders,
What irony, what a shameful day !
A slave I am now for blood suckers
Yet I saved the Middle East
from the Romans and the crusaders.
Who am I ?

Yes, I am the Kurd,
the Kurd of Kurdistan
who is poor and oppressed today.
My castles and forts
are now demolished;
my name and my fame'
swindled by my assailants,
those who set germs into my body
to paralize my existence
making a nameless soul of me;
a nation with no friends.
Who am I?

I am not blood thirsty;
no, I adore peace.
Noble were my ancestors;
sincere are my leaders,
We don't ask for war but demand equality
but our enemies are the ones who betray and lie."

Erbil (called "Hewler" in Kurdish) is the capital city of Iraq's Kurdish region. The history of Erbil goes six thousand years back. It was called Arbela and meant "four Gods"( the city was the worship sanctuary for the Assyrian goddess, Ishtar). I hope you enjoy my pictures :

Erbil from the plane

A veiled version of myself. The veil for women isn't mandatory in Iraq, only at the Mosque.

The city has a long history and here are a couple of pictures of the ancient Minaret (6,000 years old) and of the Citadel, which is now considered as World heritage by UNESCO : 

Now some food...

All traditional dishes (dolmas, kebab, rice cooked with grenadine sauce)

baklawas

The street market (bazaar) :