Damascus Old City, Empty From Tourists

Have you been here before? Then the emptiness might strick you. Previously crowded and full of tourists, now a quiet part of the city, where unsold tourist souvenirs have replaced the liveliness.

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Photos: Copyright Sweden and the Middle East Blog

Small Boys Waiting to Be Men, Kuwait

Photo: Copyright Sweden and the Middle East Blog

Summer in Damascus Suburbs

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Photos: copyright Sweden and the Middle East blog

The Rise of Kurdistan

Photo: Copyright Sweden and the Middle East Blog

A few years back, what did you associate Kurdistan with? If you had the same idea like me, an isolated war-torn place in the mountains might be what came to your mind.

In the few years after receiving it’s independency, Kurdistan has rised from it’s broken past and is now a developing region with a booming economy. Tourist resorts, 5 star hotels and fancy restaurants has taken the place of the refugee camps that we got so accustomed with on TV. If you’re in Erbil and looking for a night out, you can go to “Salsa Erbil” or any of the other Facebookpages dedicated to entertain young and bored people.

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Photo: Copyright Sweden and the Middle East Blog

I love to show Iraqi Kurdistan in photos, because it proves that a country or region can build itself up from a broken past and turn into a beautful place.

To Kurdistan now Iraqis from Baghdad and Basra go for vacation, to get away from the violence and unstability in the South. It used to be the other way around.

Photo credit: WOMEN NEWS NETWORK