It’s Iraq but It’s Not: Part I 7.1.2011
By Yasmine Mousa



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January 7, 2011

ERBIL-Hewlêr, Kurdistan region 'Iraq', — On a recent trip to the Kurdistan region north of Iraq, duty required us to drive to a place here in its capital that we didn’t know. My colleagues and I, all Iraqis, stopped by the first police officers we spotted, naturally enough, to ask for directions. We asked in Arabic, then I tried in English.

The young officer did understand us, which is how I discovered the language barrier that is slowly emerging here, dividing the country not only linguistically, but also generationally.

We were in Iraq, so we presumed that Arabic remained the common language, but the trip to the Kurdish region, my first since before the war, taught me that Arabic will only go so far.

A pattern emerged. Person after person, especially the young, spoke almost exclusively Kurdish, struggling with Arabic if they spoke any at all.
Minare park in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan. Photo: flickr
This, too, is a legacy of Saddam Hussein’s rule. After the Persian Gulf war in 1990-91, the international community created a protectorate for the Kurds in the north, patrolled by aircraft in the “no fly” zones.

The region, nominally autonomous since the 1970s under the Baath Party, began to separate itself from the central authority in Baghdad. The Kurdish language’s revival became part of a broader move toward freedom, if not independence outright.

Now, over time, a new generation has emerged, still Iraqi, but not necessarily Arabic speaking. Only the older people, it seemed, speak Arabic well. In a government office, for example, the mayor spoke it,his younger aides, like the police officer, spoke hardly a word at all.

Not everyone is pleased by the evolution.

Khudaida Haj, 55, learned Arabic in school and Kurdish from his family. After the war, he said, “For nine years not a single word of Arabic was heard.”

Standing by Mr. Haj’s side was his niece, 10. “She is in the fourth grade,” he said, “but she barely has one lesson of Arabic a week. The rest is in Kurdish.”

He mused about her future, noting Iraq’s newly re-elected president, Jalal Talabani, a Kurd. “What if she wants to run for parliament?” he said of his niece. “How could that work?”

Then, as if thinking out loud, “We are in Iraq, after all.”

We found a simple fix to the reporting challenges the language barrier posed. We sought out the elderly. A man gave us precise directions the police officer could not.

At restaurants, too, we passed the young waiters and headed directly to the old man sitting, inevitably, behind the cashier. To him we gave our orders, and the young men would politely, but silently, bring us our traditional dishes of kebab and tikka.



It’s Iraq but It’s Not: Part II
http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2011/1/state4504.htm

This is the second of two posts that look at the difference between life in Baghdad and the country’s northern Kurdish region. Read Part I

January 8, 2011

ERBIL-Hewlêr, Kurdistan region 'Iraq', — We arrived at the checkpoint that separates Iraq from Kurdistan and waited to get in, counting the seconds. It felt as if we were in a prison and now waited to be released to a place where other Iraqis feel free – and fearless.

We live in Baghdad, the capital, which in most countries would be the cleanest and most developed city. Now, nearly eight years after the invasion, we feel only disappointment. The lack of security and services made us excited about leaving.

We were traveling to another part of Iraq, the Kurdish region in the north, but it felt like we were visiting another country.

The checkpoint, on the road from Kirkuk to Erbil, feels like a border. You don’t need a visa, but you can’t just cross either, the Kurdish authorities checking everyone, especially Arabs from the rest of Iraq.

The Arab-Kurd divide in Iraq is often called a potential flashpoint, a “trigger line” of a conflict not yet resolved. It’s more than a political barrier; it is an ethnic one, a social one, a psychological one.

“That checkpoint seems to be a separate line – between paradise and hell,” one of my colleagues said.

We passed into Kurdistan and started making plans, just like tourists. We didn’t want to waste a single moment, to take photos of everything.

One of the most striking things in Erbil – almost inconceivable in Baghdad today – is a shopping center, the newly opened Majidi Mall.

It could be in the United States or Europe, in another country in other words. “It looks like we are in a dream,” my colleague said. “The lighting, the floor, the shops – and even the people are different.”

He complained, not unhappily, that the quality of the goods for sale “took my attention and took my money.”

Such a mall is new to Iraqis. In Baghdad, despite improved security, such a place would just be a target for attack.

Most Iraqis would love to see the time when one could be built there, in Baghdad. Another friend back home told me he dreamed of a place where he could go with a girlfriend “watch a movie and eat popcorn as any other man in the world.”

Maybe that day will come. Until then, we have Erbil. On the road back to Baghdad, getting closer to the checkpoint again,I felt sadness again, but also eagerness to return the next time.

Iraq's most luxurious shopping mall to open in Erbil

24 Oct 2009


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Erbil's newest mall likened Dubai's luxurious shopping complexes.
Majidi Mall will have Iraq's first Mango, Ecco, Viss and Trump stores, among others.

A large, brand-new building with its iconic clock tower--is the most striking landmark on the smooth Erbil-Koya/Sulaimaniyah Highway. If going by taxi, just ask for the clock tower on the highway and the driver will know the direction. "Most drivers call it simply the Big Ben of Erbil," says a local taxi driver on his way to the building, referring to the renowned London landmark.

Reaching the destination, one would imagine being in a new, world-class airport terminal or a large 21st-century train station. More than a dozen high flagpoles with the bright Kurdish flag adorn the main entrance of the prestigious three-story building. Fountains also decorate the outside area of the light-beige-colored complex. A large sign just before entering the complex reads: "Welcome to Majidi Mall."

Inside the shopping mall, workers are finishing up the last touches. The mall must be finished prior to its grand opening on November 15. Surprisingly, to this part of the world, even women work on the almost-finished construction site. Once inside the large structure, one would imagine being in one of the large Dubai shopping malls. The Arab emirate, world-famous for its dozens of large and luxurious shopping complexes, is a model for many of Erbil's new projects, including this shopping mall.

"This shopping mall will look like any other large and luxurious shopping complex on this planet, including those of Dubai," states Haro Ahmed Kader Majidi, a manager at Hewa Group, owners of the Majidi Mall. The opening of the new mall will further highlight Erbil's position as one of the new Middle Eastern shopping capitals, according to Majidi.

All of the stores opening at the mall will incorporate many international brands coming to Iraq for the first time, says Majidi, who is also the son of the malls' owner, Ahmed Majidi.

"The stores opening up in our shopping complex are all globally renowned brands such as Mango, Ecco, Viss, and Trump," he reveals for the first time to the media. The stores, around 65 of them in all sizes, are from countries like Spain, France, Turkey, Canada, and Kuwait. Alshaya Group from Kuwait--the largest retailers in the Middle East will have many stores in the mall, including a perfume shop," says Majidi. "

Majidi Mall offers 135,000 square meters of retail space on three levels. The first and second floors will be dedicated to fashion for men, women, and children.

A large hypermarket called City Centre will be located on the first floor and will sell 450,000 items in 13,000 square meters.




nice to see my article being published on zawya.com

by mariwan faydullah salihi
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The third floor will include 20 fast-food restaurants and cafes, a six-lane bowling alley, and a games section for children and adults alike. The food court will include Chinese, Indian, and Italian cuisines. Globally known fast-food chains will also be present, but rumors about Burger King and McDonald'sMcDonald's opening their first franchises at the mall are incorrect. "We tried our best to bring them [Burger King and McDonald's], but they refused. They still think that Erbil, like some areas in Iraq, is a dangerous place," tells Majidi.

Cafes will also dot the shopping mall, including Canada's famous Coffee Time.

After the official November 15 opening, the luxurious shopping complex will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The food court will stay open until 12 p.m.

Construction on the Majidi Mall started at the beginning of 2007 and cost more than US$60 million.

Other similar projects include the Family Fun Mall, opening in the first quarter of 2010; Erbil Mega Mall (modeled after the renowned Sharjah, a United Arab Emirates mall); Tablo Mall (near Erbil's Francois Hariri International Stadium); and a dozen more shopping complexes currently under construction. The Nishtiman (Kurdish for "National") Mall in downtown Erbil will be the largest shopping mall in the world with more than 8,000 shops when construction ends on all of its phases, says a source from its management. Erbil, with an estimated population of 2 million, is the capital of Kurdistan Region. The fast developing city lies 350 km north of Baghdad and is regarded as the safest and most prosperous area in Iraq. The city is often called the second Dubai for its ambitious projects.

By Mariwan Faydullah Salihi

© The Kurdish Globe 2009