Thanks to everyone who’s posted on the discussion board so far and for the kind words of encouragement from such diverse locations as El Salvador, Canada, Korea and the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport (alright Simon!)

I was particularly struck by Jo Deane’s request:

“I would like to ask a silly(?) favour and wonder if you could take a picture of a real live flower or flowering plant. Not the paper/plastic stuff we see children wave on tv, but something real and pretty, even a wildflower growing somewhere.”

Jo, I don’t know where you’re writing from but it’s not a silly favour at all. In fact, the hills of Kurdistan are full of spring flowers at the moment. The mountains which mark the Iranian border are still dusted with fresh snow. This afternoon I watched them turn from white to orange to deep red as the sun set. The fields are ablaze with colour, the air is cold and clean and the light is sharp and rich. Whatever your politics, you can understand why the Peshmerga think this is a land worth fighting for.

When we were filming in Halabja a few days ago I took some photos of the flowers growing alongside the mass graveyard where many of the victims of the chemical weapons attack in 1988 are buried. Since you ask, here’s some pictures of them. I’ve no idea what they are – maybe you can enlighten me.

Halabja Flower 1
Halabja Flower 2

Discuss Northern Iraq Weblog