Intro / Index

Welcome! I hope you are excited to explore Turkey and the Kurdish people who live there. Strap in tight, it`s going to be a pretty amazing adventure! We'll explore things like: 

Index / Intro

History of the Kurds

Homeland of the Kurds

World of the Kurds

Kurds Cosmos

Birds of the Kurds

Food of the Kurds

Music of the Kurds

Kurdish Children

Turkey Kurds and Their Neighbors

Interview

References




I will be working with all these topics the next few weeks... stay posted! 

Kurdish Children

 

 Here is a picture of the Kurdish children playing outside in one of their villages found at www.Google.com. You can click this link to go to the sight. Click here.


I chose to do a blog page on Kurdish children because children are my passion. I work with them now and I hope that I will be able to work with them when I graduate. Kurdish children are recently, and increasingly, losing their human rights by being forced into child labor. Because of this, the children (especially in Turkey)are suffering physically, mentally, and socially.
    These kids go so many extra miles to make some money. I read of an instance where a child was selling food on the side of the road, at midnight, just to make a little money. The police in Turkey to not approve of the children doing so. They say that they are a disturbance to the town and need to be taken off the streets. A lot of the children's parents end up in jail because of the government, so they have no choice but to fend for themselves.

Here is a picture of a small child who was forced into child labor. This picture was found at www.google.com

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                        You can click here to go to the actual website this picture was from.


  Kurdish children and Turkish children do not have the same rights and you can clearly know the difference between the two when you see them. Turkish children have the opportunity to go to a well-off preschool, daycare, and or school. Unfortunately for the Kurdish children, they do not have the same opportunities. These kids are in no way protected by the government like the Turkish kids are.
    Although a lot of these children live not only a miserable life, but a poor life, they always seem to have a smile on their faces. They all have high dreams of being able to some day go to school and graduate and have high expectations of getting jobs like doctors, and lawyers and so on. It is very sad to see the way these children live.

   

Kurds Cultral Survival

     The Kurdish people are the fourth largest ethnic group in the Middle East. They are also one of the most persecuted groups. They are most threatened living in Turkey, probably having the smallest population of Kurds in the countries.

Kurds Migration and Diaspora

    

Here is a picture of the Kurds migration taken from www.google.com. You can click Here to go to the actual website. 

     After reading many articles on these subjects, I could not find too much information, but I feel as though I found enough to get the point across. Every single article that I have read has said that in the past two years Kurdish Diaspora has mobilized. Believe it or not, Diaspora of the Kurds has brought a lot of attention their way.
     Within the past two years, not only has the diaspora been extremely important and gave them a lot of attention, but it has also brought along new identities and problems too. Gender issues are one of the problems that has arisen from this topic. Why? Because people have been looking at the Muslim community as negative, and that's it exactly where the Kurdish people fit in. So therefore, they have also been looked down upon.
    When it comes to migration I read a lot of the forced migration of Kurdish people in Turkey, displacement. The Kurds were forced from their homes and villages in Southeast Turkey by Turkish troops. When the violence broke out and so on, they migrated to cities in West and South Turkey. This was all over wanting a self-government, which obviously was not going to happen.
    These people were treated violently when they really just wanted a lot of the things that other people had, outside their culture, who also lived in Turkey. A lot of stories were made up and passed down during this time period. Some of them were true, others made up and not worth telling. A lot of the time the Kurds relied on their relationships with their families and friends to get through their struggles.

Kurds and Their Neighbors

     As you can see on the map Turkey has a few neighboring countries. These countries include Syria, Russia, Iraq, and Iran. Kurdish people throughout all these countries make up one big region called "Kurdistan". Kurdistan and its people have troubles with the government and so on in each of these countries, not just in Turkey. When reading up on some articles I realized that although the Kurdistan people might all be of one culture, they might not all get along because of the  fact that they are in different states and treated differently. Recently the Kurds in Turkey have been trying to make up with the Kurdish community in Iraq. At one point they called a non talking period between the two the "Period of Silence". Many Kurdish people are happy of the soon to be make up.
     What was causing the fighting between the Kurds in Iraq and the Kurds in Turkey? Take a wild guess... the Kurds in Syria! Iraq had been supporting Iraq instead of Turkey which obviously is the cause of the tension between the three countries.
     Iran is almost like the peace maker. Iran actually had multiple meetings with Turkey and Iraq. Everyone finally realized that there is going to be many differences and many opinions. They also agreed that the best things for everyone, and Kurdistan as an overall region, would be to make peace and attempt to keep it. The Kuds in Turkey are trying to keep their relationships with these other countries close because of their trading. Turkey has been working hard recently to restore their relationships with not just one of their neighbors, but all of their neighbors.

Here`s a map of the Kurds and their neighboring countries. ou can see the region of Kurdistan. This picture was found at www.google.com You can click the picture to go to the actual page.

References

Who Are the Kurds?. (1999, January 1). . Retrieved April 23, 2014, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/daily/feb99/kurdprofile.htm

Brunner, B. (2007, January 1). Kurdish History Timeline. . Retrieved April 25, 2014, from http://www.infoplease.com/spot/kurds3.html

Tokmajyan, A. (2014, January 1). Turkey, Syria, and the Kurds. . Retrieved April 6, 2014, from http://www.thewashingtonreview.org/articles/turkey-syria-and-the-kurds.html

Traff, T. (2014, January 18). With the Kurds, In Turkey . . Retrieved April 29, 2014, from http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/photobooth/2014/01/with-the-kurds-in-turkey.html#slide_ss_0=1

About the Kurds. (n.d.). . Retrieved April 29, 2014, from http://selenasol.com/selena/struggle/kurds.html

Kurdish . (2011, January 1). . Retrieved April 20, 2014, from http://culturalinfusion.org.au/soundinfusion/kurdish/

Food of the Kurds

    Kurdish food was actually something that really caught my attention. Fruits and vegetables are the most common foods that are used during their cooking. Lets start with breakfast. Breakfast for the Kurds is very different than the typical American breakfast. Sheep and cow yogurt are probably the two most popular things to eat. Other popular breakfast foods are things such as cheese, honey, and maybe even a flatbread. To drink, it is typically straight black tea.
     For lunch, it is mostly vegetables and rice. Lamb is the most popular meat when it comes to lunch. The lamb, along with the rice is usually put together and made into a type of stew or soup. There`s also a thing called Kubba / Kubbeh which is equivalent to a meat dumpling, something you would possibly get at a Chinese place here in America. Not only do they drink straight black tea, but they enjoy sweetened tea, and strong coffee too.
     Let me tell you some of the most popular dishes for dinner. The first dish is called Kurdish Lentil Soup. The ingredients are: lentils, salt, black pepper, curry powder, olive oil, onions, and vermicelli. Another dish is called Crispy Okra Raita which involves: okra, canola oil, yogurt, salt, sugar, cayenne, turmeric, mustard seeds, and coriander. Last, but not least, Kurdish tea which just involves honey, lemons, and water.

Here`s a picture of the Crispy Orka Raita found at www.google.com Click here to go to the webpage.

Here is a picture of Kurdish Kubbeh take from www.google,com. Click here to go to the actual webpage.

    

    

Music of the Kurds

Here is a picture of the Kurds doing a popular dance found at www.google.com. Click here to go to the webpage.

 

      When you think of American music what comes to mind? Maybe Justin Bieber, A$AP Rocky, Miley Cyrus? There`s all different kinds of music. There`s rap, country, hip-hop, classical, jazz, rock, so many options! Well when it comes to Kurdish music there are three main types of music. The three main types of music are storytellers, bards, and minstrels. Love songs, dance music, and wedding songs are extremely popular in the Kurdish population. The instruments that are most popular are called tembûr, qernête, bilûr, simsal, Zirne, and dahol. 

       Here are a list of popular Kurdish Artists : 

•  Kamkars Ensemble
•  Ilana Eliya
•  Mahsa and Marjam Vahdat
•  Kayhan Kalhor & Ali Akbar Moradi

  

 Here are some videos you can watch o Kurdish music:

Kurdish Music VIdeo 1 

Kurdish Music Video 2

History of the Kurds

    

The Kurds are very interesting people. From reseaching, they have been around as long as 3,000 years ago, maybe even longer. There are about 13 million Kurds who live in Turkey. Those 13 million Kurds in Turkey, represent about 55% of the Kurdish population. These people don`t just live in Turkey though, although that is where we will be focusing our attention. The Kurds live in places in Southwest Asia such as Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Armenia, and Lebanon. The mountainious region where they live is called Kurdistan, which is comprised of all the places I just recited. Altogether, there are around 25 million Kurdish people in the world. Until recently, they have always been Tribal people, always living in the mountains near the rivers.
     The Kurds are normally considered "outcasts" or "isolated" if you will. They follow the teachings of Islam for the most part. They are Suni- Muslim and they speak their own language. Most of them also come from an indo-European decent.They had a lot of problems with the government. Their language was illegal until 1991. They weren`t even allowed to wear their type of clothing in the cities, it was completely banned. Even today, Turkey refuses to see the Kurdish people as a minority group.

World of the Kurds

The Men`s Kurdish soccer team from www.google.com. Click here to go to webpage.

Picture of a Kurdish women in her dress attire from www.google.com. Click here to visit webpage.

       The Kurds have a very interesting and fun way of living. Lets start off by talking about what they wear. The women to not wear anything around their heads. Everything that they wear is very loose-fitting and colorful. They are also fully clothed with a headdress. They do not wear silver jewelry, but they will occasionally wear gold jewelry. The men also wear very baggy clothing. As for the men covering their heads, they only do it when they are in certain places.
    When it comes to the work place, most men are farmers. They have lots of land to take care of along with the animals in the mountainous and hilly areas of Turkey. The women are considered what we call "stay at home moms". In their homes, or outside they will weave baskets and rugs, they also may sell these rugs and baskets for money. The children do as their parents do. So if the children are old enough to help the parents, they do. The boys will go out onto the field with the father, while the girls are taught the ways of their mothers.
    When it comes to what the Kurds do for fun, their main activity is story telling. The children love the story telling. They have no problem all getting together and taking turns telling a story or two. Another thing that they love to do is sing and dance. They have many of their own dances and songs that you can read into under my blog section for songs and dancing. Last, but not least, they love soccer! It is their most popular sport, and they go crazy as fans!

Homeland of the Kurds

     For the most part, the places where the Kurds live in Turkey are very mountainous. There are also a lot of rivers, which the Kurds seem to take advantage of. I speak in my others blogs about how they are very into farming and how they have a very agricultural economy. It is an extremely rural area. The temperatures seem to fluctuate. So in the summer, it gets extremely hot; and in the winter it can also get extremely cold.The summers get very try, and the winters are wet.When snow does happen to come down, it does not stay any longer than only a few days.
    Specifically, where the Kurds are in the mountains, the weather gets a lot more severe. The snow can stay on the ground a lot longer and that obviously effects them when it comes to their way of living, farming. Temperatures have dropped as low as -30 to -40 degrees Celsius. As you can imagine, the summers are the complete opposite. May is usually the driest month, whereas July and August are the wettest of the months.
  

A picture of the landscape of where most of the Kurdish people live in Turkey from www.google.com. Click here to visit the webpage.

Kurds Cosmos

As I have stated before the majority of Kurds are Suni-Muslim. Although that is the majority of them, it is not all of them. around 2/3 of them are Suni-Muslim, while the other 2/3 are Shi`ite Muslim. I also stated in the history of the Kurds that most of the Kurdish people in Turkey follow the Islam ways. There are five major pillars to the Islam faith which are :

1.) Testimony of Faith

2.) Prayer

3.) Fasting

4.) Almsgiving

5.) Pilgrimage to Mecca  

     Let me lay it out for you in the Muslim language. Testimony of Faith is called Kalima. Prayer is called Salat. Fasting is called Bukhari. Almsgiving is called Zakat. Last, but not least, Pilgrimage to Mecca is called Hajj. It is a known thing that is the men and women have the money to go to Mecca, they should do so. 

    Here are some random facts about their religion. The Muslim faith does not allowed their followers to eat pork. When it is time to fast, they do not east in the day time, instead they east at night with family and friends at a gathering. During fasting there are different rules for children and pregnant women.
     Kurds are also followers of what is called the "Cult of Angels", which is a native Kurdish religion. Only a small percent of Kurds are Christian and Jewish.

Birds of the Kurds

There are so many different species of birds in Turkey, you wouldn't even believe it! I am going to go over some of the most popular birds in Turkey, mostly the ones who live near/ are important to the Kurds culture.

Picture of the Rüppell’s Warbler found at  www.google.com

1.) Rüppell’s Warbler is probably the most popular bird. 
This bird is rather skinny. The adults have a grey back and lighter grey underparts. Their bills are pointed, they have brown legs, and as you can see in this picture they also have red eyes. The males usually have black heads where the females have a grey head. Females also have a pale throat compared to the males. The noise that they make is a slow, deep rattle. They live in thick shrubs. They lay about four to six eggs at one time. 

* You can click the picture to go to the actual website.

A picture of the Northern Bald Ibis perched on a wire found at www.google.com

2.) Northern Bald Ibis are birds are usually close to water. They lay around two to three eggs at one time. You will not find any feathers on this birds face. They are a glossy black bird and have a red face and head. They also have a red bill that is long, skinny, and curved at the end of it. They usually eat insects and other small animals. We are starting to see less and less of these birds as the years go on.


* You can click the picture to go to the actual website.

Here`s a picture of the Spur-winged Plover while searching for food. From www.google.com

3.) Spur-winged Plover is a bird that has a black chest as you can see in the picture. Their tails are also black. Their back and wings are a light brown, while their belly and back are white. Their legs and bill are clearly black also. They have a very very loud call. These birds have small claws that are under their wings, and that's where they got their name from. They also eat insects. They only lay two eggs at a time.

* You can click the picture to go to the actual website.

Here`s a picture of the Pallid Scops Owl high up in a tree found at www.google.com.

4.) Pallid Scops Owl is an owl that has very tiny ears. They like to eat lizards, insects, and small mammals. They have no problem scooping down to pick up a bat for dinner. These owls only breed during June and July. They lay 4-6 eggs at a time. Usually they lay their eggs in a hole in a tree. They have a very distinct low, hollow call.


* You can click the picture to go to the actual website.







 

Interview

Picture from www.google.com. Click the picture to go to the link.

   

I interviewed a man named Aza. I actually found him by using Facebook. I went in and types in Kurds in Turkey and a bunch of groups came up. I "liked" one of the groups which caused my to become one of their friends. I then proceeded to message this Facebook page and say. "Hello! My name is Brooke and I am a sophomore at East Stroudsburg University. I am currently enrolled in a geography class and my goal for the semester is to find out as much about your culture as I can. I am hoping you have someone who could get in touch with me who speaks English. I am very interested in the foods and living of your culture. Thank you for your time." About two weeks later I recieved an email back from a man named Aza. It was hard to communicate with him       because he would only get back to me every so often so I got minimal information from him, but I will share what I can.
    I learned that he was a 36 year old man who obviously lived in Turkey. I messaged him again asking about the food in his culture and he sent me back a few things. One of the things he sent back was that cooking takes up a lot of a woman's day. He told me that their main meals consisted of wheat, butter, dried goods, and cheese. He told me that the Kurdish people are very big on bread too. They make their bread into different shapes. Rice, Chickpeas, and and dry beans usually make it into their meals also. He sent a few recipes to me, but when I tried to Google them to see if they came up here, I found nothing. 
    After he sent me the message about the food I simply asked what he did for fun. He informed me that his personally favorite thing to do was to spend time with his family. I automatically though, hey that's not much different from me! He told me that's what he does on his free time, but a lot of the day he has a side job and also works on a small farm. He told me has has two children. They are both girls. The one who is 8 years old really enjoys soccer, and the younger of the two is too young to tell what she is going to like. He told me he sings to them a lot and they really enjoy that. After he sent this message, I sent back one asking about their schooling, but unfortunately he is yet to get back to me. As much as I have researched this culture, nothing seemed far from the norm.