Iraqi Kurdistan: Snow-covered and "Freez"- ing!
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By Mariwan Salihi
The Editor-in-Chief of iErbil, Mariwan Salihi, makes a one-day road trip through Iraqi Kurdistan's snow-covered mountains and discovers a village north of Erbil called "Freez" – how appropriate!
When I heard the weather forecast the day before, I couldn't resist doing what I was supposed to do the next day: It was snowing in most parts of Iraqi Kurdistan and I wanted to see those snow-covered mountains, and of course take plenty of photos (1400 photos in total, if you really want to know).
On Friday, January 20th, Niroj, a friend of mine, and I decided to make a one-day road trip to the ancient city of Amadiyah (Amedi), but our circumstances changed that day's itinerary. We quickly changed our plans and decided to head to the snow-covered areas around the tourist town of Shaqlawa, around 45km north-east of Erbil.
On our way, on the left-side of the Erbil-Salahaddin resort highway (also called the "Hamilton Road" – honoring the New Zealand engineer who built it in the 1920s), there's the ancient Khanzad Castle. Named after a famous Kurdish Princess, the Khanzad Castle is only 20 minutes away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Erbil. As we arrived at the spot during the Friday prayers, there was no one at the site expect for us. We admired the ancient castle and imagined how much the princess enjoyed the beautiful views of the surrounding Tarin Hills and the nearby mountains – the castle is built on the top of a hill with generous views of the area.
