Kurdish mountains alive with weddings

Arbil: Unlike elsewhere in Iraq where couples find it hard to celebrate weddings, such ceremonies are being observed with gusto in picturesque Kurdistan - Arbil, Suleimaniyah and Duhok - because of its stable security situation.

Couples planning to wed in Kurdistan, especially in Arbil, choose to set the ceremonies on the mountain heights of Bekhal and Shaqlawa, and also in public gardens especially the modern, well-designed gardens of Sami Abdul Rahman near the Kurdistan Parliament.

Mina Abdul Hameed, a bride, told Gulf News: "What distinguishes my wedding ceremony from others is simplicity and attachment to nature.

"I decided to set my wedding on the slopes of Bekhal mountains and it is a wonderful area ... we have a comfortable atmosphere and have great pleasure. For me this is the [best place to wed]."

Open air parties

In weddings in Arbil, women and men dance and sing Kurdish, Iraqi and other traditional Arabic songs, and distribute drinks, sweets and cakes.

The groom sits encircled by male guests while the bride sits on the ground in her white wedding dress surrounded by women guests.

The groom later joins the bride in a single circle of friends and the couple eventually leaves for their house or a hotel for honeymoon.

Mohammad Shaker, a groom, told Gulf News: "Choosing to wed in the foothills and slopes of the mountains or in public gardens like Sami Abdul Rahman's gardens has nothing to do with the economical aspects.

"Wedding ceremonies are set in public areas especially in summer and spring, unlike winter when wedding ceremonies take place indoors. This is how things go in Kurdistan."

He added: "I am a Kurd from Baghdad. I decided to flee to Arbil to live and work. I was engaged [when I fled] and set my wedding ceremony amid this magnificent landscape and scenes, which are very much similar to European landscapes."

The government of Kurdistan is planning to develop the mountainous areas through tourism by entrusting the areas with private companies who in turn engage expatriate labourers to clean and spruce up the areas visited by people.

There are plans to attract Arab and foreign investors to establish tourism facilities in Dokan, Sarsank, Shaqlawa, Sulaf, Bekhal and Ali Gali Bek.

Some sources in Arbil estimate that Kurdistan needs $3 to 4 billion (about Dh11 to 14 billion) in the next five years to develop its tourism industry.