Mountain life for nomads in the Kurdistan Region

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Nomads in the Kurdistan Region escape the summer heat with their livestock to the cool mountains, where they stay until winter.

In the past, travelling to the mountains was a long and arduous journey on horseback. It has now been made easier with modern roads.

Most nomads rely on migrating between mountainous areas in the summer and garminas, or warmer areas, during the winter.

Brothers Hassan Sheikha and Jwana Sheikha are both over the age of 70 and are the last generation of nomadic sheep breeders.

“Now thankfully there are roads, and people can easily travel between the mountainous areas and the garmina, as now it takes one hour to travel to the garmina and come back here [to the mountains],” nomad Jwan Sheikha told Rudaw. 

“We milk the cows and sheep, make cheese, and shake the mashka [a vessel to curdle milk],” said nomad Nasin Ibrahim.

In Kurdish the word for nomad is ‘Kochar’, which is also a gender neutral name for boys and girls in Kurdistan region.

Kochars live in big tents made from goat hair that is open on all sides to let in natural air.

Nomads have been victims of the Turkish airstrikes in some areas of the Kurdistan Region.

Reporting by Bakhtiyar Qadir