HELLO MY NAME IS KOSAR: September 2007

Friday, September 28, 2007

Heights

Halgurd peak which is part of Hasarost mountain is thought to be 3,607 metres/ 11,833 feet high, and had previously been thought to be Iraq's highest mountain

Cheekha Dar, or Black Tent, is the local Kurdish name for the mountain currently thought to be the highest in Iraq. It is claimed to be 3,611 metres/ 11,847 feet high by the CIA. It is on the border with Iran.

It was climbed in November 2004 by English explorer Ginge Fullen, who recorded a GPS reading of 3,628 meters/ 11,902 feet at the coordinates 36°46′31″N, 44°55′07″E. The location is consistent with Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and Russian topographic mapping, although these sources are more consistent with the CIA height.

Halgurd view near Semilan village in Choman district, Erbil, April 10, 2007

Halgurd view from Choman, June 13, 2007

Handren mountain in Soran - Feb 11, 2007

Piramagrun Mountain, Dokan, Sulaymaniyah

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Choman, Sidakan, Shanidar, Dinarta

Choman, Erbil

Choman lies North East Erbil city, and 15 km off the Iranian border

Choman town is surrounded by very high altitude mountains ranging (2500-3500 m)

Choman town is located at an altitude of more than 1100 m

Sidakan, Soran, Erbil

Sidakan is a remote town located North East Erbil, is 15 km off Iranian border and 35 km to the Turksih border

Apple orchard in Sidakan

Shanidar, Mergasur, Erbil

The cave site of Shanidar is located at the foothills of the Zagros Mountains in north-eastern Iraq. It was excavated between 1957-1961 by Ralph Solecki and his team from Columbia University and yielded the first adult Neandertal skeletons in Iraq, dating between 60-80,000 years BP (Before Present)

The cave is away 2.17 km from the highway

Shanidar cave grid coordinates 36°50'4.86"N, 44°13'9.06"E (apply to Google-Earth)

Stairs to the cave

Spider web

Nine skeletons of Neanderthals of varying ages and states of preservation and completeness were excavated (labelled Shanidar I - IX)

Me inside the Shanidar cave at the excavation site

In this photograph Kurdish workmen have just begun the excavation of the earthen floor of the cave. Bedrock was reached at a depth of 45 feet. Photo by Dr. Ralph Solecki

Shanidar 1 - The Shanidar Cave site is most famous for two of its skeletons, I and IV. Shanidar I was an elderly Neanderthal male known as Shanidar I, or ‘Nandy’ to its excavators. He was aged between 40-50 years, which was considerably old for a Neanderthal, equivalent to 80 years old today, displaying severe signs of deformity

Ralph Solecki, archaeologist and supervisor of the dig which discovered the Neanderthal remains in Shanidar Cave, pictured here with Dorothy Garrod discussing the Shanidar Cave finds in the Mustansariyah, Baghdad

Dinarta, Akre, Dahuk

Dinarta is 10 km North East Akre

Cattle system in Dinarta

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Dukan, Shaqlawa, Soran, Rawanduz

Dukan Lake, Sulaymaniyah

Dukan Lake is the largest lake in Kurdistan Region which lies in northeastern Iraq. The lake is close to the city of Rania in Sulaymaniyah Governorate.

Ashur Hotel, Dukan Lake

Sunset view from Ashur Hotel, July 19, 2005

The big part of Dukan Lake

Shaqlawa, Erbil

Shaqlawa district is 30 km North East of Erbil city

Shaqlawa is well-known with its abundant trees

Shaqlawa venues

Beehives

Faqeyan village is North West Shaqlawa, Shaqlawa District, Apr 18, 2007

Soran, Erbil

Soran is a mojor town lies 65 km North East Erbil city. Photo is taken from the office of Soran's mayor

Zozik mountain

President Bush and Barzani's photo put in mayor's office

Scarecrows set by the villagers to frighten birds away from seeds

Rawanduz, Soran, Erbil

Rawanduz valley

Rawanduz valley and Korek mountain

Iraqi National Astronomical Observatory placed at the top of Korek mountain was built in the 1980s and was ran by the Space and Astronomy Research Center (SARC) in Jadriyah in Baghdad