April 9, 2020

“Because my family was religious, I had a shy and fearful childhood. My childhood was full of taboos and red lines. I always felt different among my friends and peers, in a way that I would stay alone most of the times – I am like that to this day. I don’t precisely know why – as a child it would make me sad and anxious, but now I enjoy the strangeness and loneliness more than anything else. My greatest moments in life were breaking those conventions and red line rules set by society and religion that I was terrified of. Eventually that changed my perception from a shy, frightened person to a nonconformist and adventurous character. I am content with my experiences and achievements. I have my own rules and beliefs, different from everyone else’s. My only source of energy and inspiration is nature, I always like to be close to nature. My philosophy in life is this: Just be yourself, love yourself. Don’t share or compare your sadness, happiness, ideas or experiences with anyone.”

“A few years back I made a wish come true. That wish was; back in the day we had “Alf w Ba” magazine, I was 20 years old when I read about Chinese acupuncture treatment in that magazine. So, me and a few Chinese people decided to bring Chinese doctors to Sulaimani and open an acupuncture treatment center. After 38 years that wish came true, but because of the ISIS war the doctors went back to China. I was born in a mountainous region; mountains are a big part of my life. I have another dream now; to climb mount Everest in China. If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to not be afraid of anything. Whenever you fall, stand back up. Don’t think about the fact that you have fallen, always carry on.”

“We came across each other in 2015, thereafter we decided to travel together, we still have a strong and close friendship. We have been on nearly 100 trips together. Our most difficult trip was in 2017. We started climbing Piramagroon mountain at 09:00 AM, we walked through the snow until 06:00 PM, it was completely dark when we arrived. We stayed the night through the rain and snow. We climbed down Susa valley in the morning but the road was blocked by snow, so we had to change course. We walked from 9 AM to 8 PM, it was pitch dark when we arrived. It was a tough trip; our clothes were completely wet, we had no hiking recourses, no food and we hadn’t eaten, it was a really difficult trip. Our best trip was also in Piramagroon. It was my birthday, and it was Yalda night. It was a great day.”