Northern Iraq

In early April I returned to northern Iraq to spend time with the Iraq Mental Health (IMHI) Program that IRD implements throughout Kurdistan and in some parts of Southern Iraq.  This was a very special trip as my colleague and friend, Lali Chania, met me there to also be a part of the monitoring and overall health assessment. 

The program is moving along very well.  The IMHI team have so far held a number of very important workshops for clerics, health professionals, the media, government representatives, and civil society activists hosting groundbreaking discussions on the importance of mental health awareness in the communities and the roles each of those professional sectors play in building that awareness and reducing the stigma associated with mental health.  They are implementing a nationwide mental health awareness campaign and have developed TV, radio and newspaper spots that are advertised throughout Iraq.  And they have trained general practitioners and other health service providers, psychologists and social workers in best practices for delivering quality psychosocial care for the general population with a focus on children and trauma victims.

During this trip we visited a camp that is home to many displaced families that have fled the violence in Mosul.  Unlike the refugees in Jordan, who are relatively integrated into the communities, the displaced populations within Iraq are living in the standard UNHCR tent camps and have very little services available to them.   Lali and I held a focus group discussion with women from the camp to discuss their health needs, which were many as you can imagine.

In addition to meeting with local partners, ministry representatives and local health organizations, we had the opportunity to spend some very nice time with the IMHI staff and their families, dancing to Kurdish music, listening to Dr. Rawisht play the Kurdish Lute, and then the finale being wowed by Lali playing “itsy bitsy spider” on the lute. 

For more pictures from Northern Iraq visit: my photo site!

Eastern Desert Castles and Azraq Wetlands

In the eastern part of Jordan, as you head towards Iraq and Saudi Arabia, the land becomes more arid and desert-like and there are numerous historic ruins including castles, forts, baths and fortified outputs which are collectively called the Eastern Desert Castles.  The majority of these “castles” were built during the early days of Islam (7^th and 8^th century AD) by Damascus based Umayyad caliphs (leaders).

Qasr al-Harraneh is believed to be a defensive fort, a rest stop for passing camel trains (I like this one), or a meeting area for local Umayyad rulers and Bedouin.  It is one of the earliest forts of the Islamic era built in 710 AD.  

Qusayr Amra was a bathhouse associated with a caravan stop and hunting lodge built in 711 AD.  The inside of the bathhouse has some very well preserved paintings including topless women and fanciful animals (i.e. a bear playing a banjo).  What is interesting about these frescoes is that early Islam prohibited the paintings of any living beings.  Of course, this was a bath house for males, those who set the rules for all others, of course they didn’t have to follow them.

Qasr al-Azraq was a fort built over many years starting with the Romans in 300 AD and rebuilt in 1237 AD by the Damascus based Ayyubids and then occupied by the Ottoman Turks in the 16^th century.  Interestingly, T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) lived here in the early 1900’s during the Arab revolt against the Turks.  

The town of Azraq was once a very lush oasis that was a main stop on the way to Mecca.  Until about 40 years ago there was a 12,700 sq km wetlands that was home to elephants, lions, cheetahs and hippos.  Now it is an ecological disaster!  Jordan started pumping water from the wetlands to Amman (110km away) and all that remains now is 12 sq km of brackish and delicate wetland home to about 300 birds and a few water buffalo. 

Diving in the Red Sea

During March and April, Paul and I got our certifications as Advanced Open Water Scuba Divers and Underwater Naturalists.  Over two weekends we did 6 dives towards our certifications:  A deep dive to 90 feet, a wreck dive on a sunken Lebanese cruiser, an underwater navigation dive, a search and recovery dive, and two underwater naturalist dives. 

We did our diving in Aqaba, a city in southern Jordan, which is the only area of Jordan that borders the Red Sea.  It is a very small stretch of coastline, about 20 miles, sharing borders with Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.  It’s a beautiful area, save for the port and huge cargo ships that are anchored in the gulf, but the diving is not bad and hey, it’s only a 3.5 hour drive from Amman!

The water is quite cold this time of year.  I was wearing a 5mm wetsuit and Paul was wearing a 3mm wetsuit with a 3mm shorty over it and a hood!  The visibility isn’t bad but unfortunately overfishing and pollution has really taken a toll on the fish and corals.