I ♡ Wasting Ink → Diaries → Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan

Travels in Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan

Map of Iran and Iraq with the approximate locations of the pictures on this page highlighted.

These pictures were taken on a three-month journey in the spring of 2016, across parts of Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan.

The journey had two distinct halves:

  1. In March and April, I traveled about 8,000 kilometers by vehicle across Iran with my wife Natalie Kallay, joined in the south-east by our friend Daniel Belenyi.

  2. In May, I traveled by myself across the Zagros Mountains, from Hamadan, in Western Iran, to Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. On this part of the journey I walked every step of the way, a distance of some 800 kilometers.

The pictures are presented in no particular order.

Women walk past a shop with musicians playing in front of it. Perfume shop | Tehran, Iran | March 9, 2016

A man in the medium distance inspects one of the trees in a mulberry grove in the evening light.

Mulberry trees | Tehran, Iran | March 9, 2016

A small girl runs past a large sparkler placed on the ground, on a street at night. Chaharshanbe Suri | Tehran, Iran | March 15, 2016

Closeup of pink flowers on a tree. Cherry blossoms | Near Khulak, Gilan Province, Iran | March 21, 2016

A woman wearing a headscarf, sitting in the passenger seat of a car, holds up a goldfish in a glass. New year fish | Tehran, Iran | March 20, 2016

A hand hold a glass of clear liquid whose viscosity suggests it is hard liquor. Behind the glass, people sit around a dinner table. Illegal drinks | Between Lahijan and Rasht, Gilan Province, Iran | March 23, 2016

A man plays a large, handheld drum, and another a guitar-like instrument at a table on a hillside in the evening light. Legal drinks | Above Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan | May 19, 2016

A woman walks in a walnut forest towards a high waterfall. Laton Waterfall | Astara, Gilan Province, Iran | March 25, 2016

A high, rocky mountain fills the horizon behind green fields and wildflowers in spectacular, glowing evening light.

Zagros sunset | Kermanshah, Iran | May 5, 2016

A woman in a blue headscarf and a white shirt looks up at the intricately patterned ceiling of a mosque. Hakim Mosque | Isfahan, Iran | March 28, 2016

Looking straight up at a dome with a window in its center. Bazaar dome | Yazd, Iran | April 2, 2016

The main building of an Armenian cathedral in the evening light, with a large, undecorated dome. Vank Cathedral | Isfahan, Iran | March 29, 2016

A crow flies past the brown and turquoise dome of one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.

Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque | Isfahan, Iran | March 31, 2016

In the evening light, dome-shaped structured in the tent which are lit up from the inside Desert camp | Near Shahdad, Kerman Province, Iran | April 18, 2016

At night, people walk around an octogonal pavilion, framed by trees. Tomb of Hafez | Shiraz, Iran | April 8, 2016

Looking up at the entrance of a large tomb carved into a vertical rock wall. Tomb of Darius the Great | Naqsh-e Rustam, Fars Province, Iran | April 9, 2016

People sit in a park in the evening light in front of a tall building which looks like a concrete rocket. Tomb of Avicenna | Hamadan, Iran | April 30, 2016

Closeup of lots of colorful flowers. Flower Garden of Isfahan | Isfahan, Iran | March 30, 2016

Closeup of even more colorful flowers. Eram Garden | Shiraz, Iran | April 6, 2016

Closeup of small pink flowers. Wildflowers | Along the Gogasur River, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan | May 19, 2016

Pink flowers in a straw-yellow, hilly landscape. Unmarked minefield | Along the Gogasur River, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan | May 18, 2016

Bright green fields in what looks like strong winds under a dark grey sky.

Spring storm | Between Hush and Shanabad, Hamadan Province, Iran | May 2, 2016

A lot of people throng the door of a restaurant. Lunch queue | Isfahan, Iran | March 30, 2016

Young men dancing under a stone brige at night. Midnight party | Isfahan, Iran | March 31, 2016

Two large, carved wooden clubs at the entrance of a woodworking shop. Zurkhaneh clubs | Yazd, Iran | April 3, 2016

A man in white running clothes jogs past a picture of Ayatollah Khomeini on a very straight country road. Marathon man | Persepolis, Fars Province, Iran | April 9, 2016

A black-haired woman applies makeup to a blond woman whose eyes are closed. Makeup for afternoon shopping, light European version | Shiraz, Iran | April 8, 2016

The black-haired woman is joined by a brown-haired woman in front of a mirror, where they apply makeup together. Makeup for afternoon shopping, proper Iranian version | Shiraz, Iran | April 8, 2016

A woman in a dark headscarf, only her silhouette visible, hugs a woman whose hair peeks out from under her headscarf, in front of a yellow brick wall.

Khatere and Mahsa | Shiraz, Iran | April 8, 2016

Closeup of fine embroidery on a piece of clothing. Aisha’s trousers | Bandar-e Doulab, Hormozgan Province, Iran | April 11, 2016

A symmetrical flower carved in a broken stone which lies in the grass. Achaemenid ruins | Persepolis, Fars Province, Iran | April 9, 2016

Two men with spray paint guns smile into the camera in front of a large mural which depicts peshmerga, Kurdish warriors. Peshmerga mural | Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan | May 25, 2016

A straight and a circular door knocker on a door that looks very old. Sex-segregated door knockers | Yazd, Iran | April 4, 2016

Two women look into a large pool of crude oil, a 1970s piece of modern art, in which portraits of the two Supreme Leaders of Iran are reflected. Ayatollahs Khomeini and Khamenei | Tehran, Iran | April 25, 2016

Closeup of a mudskipper in the mud. Mudskipper | Hara forest of Qeshm, Hormozgan Province, Iran | April 11, 2016

Closeup of a sand dollar. Fossilized sand dollar | Qeshm, Hormozgan Province, Iran | April 14, 2016

A woman jumps across a canyon barely wider than a human being.

Chahkooh Valley | Qeshm, Hormozgan Province, Iran | April 12, 2016

Panoramic view of the Citadel of Bam. Arg-e Bam | Bam, Kerman Province, Iran | April 15, 2016

A small village in the mountains at dusk. Sunset in the Hawraman | Vara, Kermanshah Province, Iran | May 12, 2016

Small pink flowers on dry yellow stalks. Mountain flowers | Meymand, Kerman Province, Iran | April 20, 2016

Children ride in the bed of a white Toyota pickup truck which drives along the dirt floor of long tunnel. Unfinished tunnel | Between Hajij and Bil Spring, Kermanshah Province, Iran | May 13, 2016

A younger and two older men stand at the gate of a church at night. Assyrian men | Ankawa, Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan | May 27, 2016

Four boys stand in a line and smile into the camera. Kurdish boys | Penjwen, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan | May 16, 2016

Three girls and two boys of various ages eat ice cream in a shop; one of the girls shows the V-sign into the camera.

Kurdish girls | Hajij, Kermanshah Province, Iran | May 13, 2016

A young woman in an embroidered pink dress holds a baby in front of a large tree with a red balloon in its branches. Red balloon | Between Nevin and Selin, Kordestan Province, Iran | May 13, 2016

A beautiful young girl in a red dress smiles into the camera.
A one-eyed man wearing a turban looks into the camera.

Derun and her father, Hassan | Along the Gogasur River, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan | May 19, 2016

A bearded man smiles into the camera under an arched ceiling. Said | Upper Ali Korzan, Kermanshah Province, Iran | May 4, 2016

The lights of a small village in the mountains. Dusk above Selin (population: 910) | Selin, Kordestan Province, Iran | May 13, 2016

The lights of an enormous city stretch to the horizon. Dusk above Tehran (population: 16,000,000) | 🏔 Mount Tochal, Iran | March 13, 2016

Men drag a fishing net from a sea with a tractor, aided by lights in the complete darkness.

Night fishing | The Caspian Sea at Chapar Pord-e Zaman, Gilan Province, Iran | March 26, 2016

Two Arabian-looking boats under construction on the shore, with a completed one floating by in the sunset. Shipyard | Guran, Hormozgan Province, Iran | April 11, 2016

A man in a pink striped polo shirt with a scarf wrapped around his head drives a powerboat under a cloudy sky. Boatman | Near Hengam Island, Hormozgan Province, Iran | April 13, 2016

Closeup of a person holding a large handful of salt crystals in their hands. Salt | Qeshm salt dome, Hormozgan Province, Iran | April 12, 2016

On a pier in a dramatically pink lake, boys stand around colorful boats. Love boats and boys | Maharloo Lake, Fars Province, Iran | April 21, 2016

On a pier on a normal-looking lake, three women gear up to kayak, with white swan boats anchored near them. Love boats and girls | Zarivar Lake, Kordestan Province, Iran | May 16, 2016

A mule walks down a deserted asphalt road in a hilly countryside.

Mule | Along the Gogasur River, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan | May 18, 2016

Two goats stand by a wall in an Arabic-looking village. Two goats | Bandar-e Doulab, Hormozgan Province, Iran | April 10, 2016

A number of cows and two grey goats graze on a hillside burned yellow by the sun. Two more goats | Between Dokan and Koya, Erbil Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan | May 23, 2016

A dead goat lies on green artificial grass next to what looks like a dead sheep. Halabja Memorial Monument | Halabja, Iraqi Kurdistan | May 20, 2016

Seven men, all dressed in wide-legged Kurdish trousers, stand in a line by a fence. Construction workers | Near Ahmadawa, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan | May 19, 2016

A line of men stand in a mosque during prayer, all but one facing away from the camera. Night prayer | Penjwen, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan | May 16, 2016

Seen from ground level, a small boy sits on a tall chair and plays with a laser pointer in a shrine whose ceilings are decorated entirely with mirrored tiles. Morteza and his son Saam at the imamzadeh | Bisotun, Kermanshah Province, Iran | May 4, 2016

Three young man lie and sit around on a carpeted floor, with a woman stepping lightly on the back of one of them. Shahab gets a back massage | Kuzaran, Kermanshah Province, Iran | May 8, 2016

Two men in traditional Kurdish dress pose in front of a general store. Two shopkeepers | Halabja, Iraqi Kurdistan | May 20, 2016

Three bottles of Coke, a little left in one of them, a large straw hat, and a pair of sunglasses on a table. 40 °C in the shade | Between Dokan and Koya, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan | May 23, 2016

Fields glow with strange golden light in front of a line of low hills.

Moonlit fields | Between Koya and Erbil, Erbil Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan | May 25, 2016

Closeup of a very colorful carpet. Kurdish felt carpet | Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan | May 26, 2016

A man in traditional Kurdish dress rides a motorcycle at night without holding on to its handlebars, as seen from another motorcycle. Motorbike ride | Along the Gogasur River, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan | May 18, 2016

Looking down from a bridge at people washing their cars and having picnics by a river. Sunset on the Little Zab | Dokan, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan | May 22, 2016

An old white sedan parked on a road with a view of rolling green hills. Sunset in the Hawraman | Between Uraman Takht and Daraki, Kordestan Province, Iran | May 14, 2016

A yellow Lamborghini Gallardo parked across the road from what looks like an enormous trash fire which lights up the night sky.

Dream City | Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan | May 27, 2016

A young boy in an FC Barcelona shirt holds a paper cup of tea, sitting on a chair by the side of a road. Tea house | Ankawa, Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan | May 27, 2016

Closeup of a hand with Persian numbers and an email address, my previous one, scrawled on its palm in blue biro. Contact received | Between Uraman Takht and Daraki, Kordestan Province, Iran | May 14, 2016


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