Things to Do in Duhok, Iraqi Kurdistan

Duhok, Iraqi Kurdistan, is a decent place for travellers and backpackers for a few days. It makes a nice introduction to the region for those entering from Turkey.

I arrived in Duhok, having crossed the Ibrahim Khalil Border from Turkey.

There are a few things in town to keep you busy, and you can make day trips to quite a few places, too.

For a decent breakfast, head to the Dunya Restaurant:

Wander through the Duhok Bazaar:

For a great lunch or dinner, opposite the Dunya above, is the Omara Restaurant. I ate there, three days on the trot.

Cheap, filling, friendly staff, great nosh!

With every meal, you get an assortment of side dishes and soups and, afterwards, they bring you tea.

I stayed three nights at the Slemani Palace Hotel. It’s in a great location, and the staff are super friendly.

I was on the fifth floor. Great views over the town and the mountains behind. It’s next to the Marjan Restaurant on 11 Aylol Road, which you can find on Google Maps.

Beyond exploring the town’s bazaar and finding places to get a good feed (which is an activity in itself), here are my top things to see and do in and around Duhok.

Things to Do in Duhok

People Watch in Nawroz Park

In the evening, when the sun is less intense, join the locals hanging out in Nawroz Park. Just to the left in the photo below is a place serving up great ice cream:

Duhok Dam

The Duhok Dam is just a short walk from town. What I found amazing was that you could just walk across and take photos.

The dam is 60 m high and can hold 52,000,000 m³ of water.

Bizarrely, there is a resort at the bottom of the dam wall.

I walked a short way to the right and sat with a soft drink while enjoying the view of Duhok Dam Lake:

Walking across the top of the Duhok Dam:

Walking across the top of the Duhok Dam, with the Kurdish Flag painted on the wall:

If you go to the right, there is a small, makeshift cafe. Makes a great spot to enjoy the view:

Selfies at Duhok Dam:

The Mar Ith-Alaha Church

Mar Ith-Alaha Church is said to be the oldest church in the city of Duhok. According to tradition, this church was built on the spot where Mar Ith-Alaha was stoned around 379.

For me, it’s interesting to see a Catholic church in a predominantly Muslim country. Sadly, the doors were closed when I visited.

I like to explore the Jewish, Armenian, and Christian Quarters in the Middle East.

Amadiye

Together with a fellow traveller whom I met at the hotel, I took a shared taxi to the small town of Amedi, more commonly referred to as Amadiye. There were no other passengers, so we paid for the four seats ourselves. This is a major disappointment for solo travellers in Kurdistan. If you want to go anywhere, it becomes quite expensive.

There are many alternative spellings: Amedi, Amadiye and even Amadiyah.

Amedi was once the ancient capital of the Emirate of Bahdinan, a semi-independent and autonomous emirate which lasted from 1376 to 1843.

The weather didn’t play ball. Heavy rain sadly ruined the day for us, but we went to see the Amadiye Mosque.

The impressive 33-metre-high minaret was built in the 16th century by Badini Emir Sultan Hussein Wali.

Map of Amadiye showing the main sights:

Sign showing the way to the Bahdinan – Mosul Gate:

The Western Gate as it was also known, was one of just two gates into the City of Amadiye. The Eastern Gate no longer exists.

The Bahdinan Gate dates from the 13th century and served as the main entrance to the fortified city of Amedi, once the capital of the Bahdinan Empire:

This is one of three two-thousand-year-old rock carvings, showing a guard holding a spear in his right hand and gripping a sword with his left. The carvings date from the first century BC and the second century AD.

Views from the Bahdinan – Mosul Gate in Kurdistan:

The Mira Graveyard, also referred to as the royal graveyard, is a small cemetery said to have been built for Badini Emir Sultan Hussein Wali (1534-1570 AD):

At the Gate of the Emirate Palace:

Then the rain fell in torrents. We took shelter in a cafe and then made a dash back to the entrance to the town and got a shared taxi back to Duhok. It was the same driver we had on the way out. That just shows you the absence of passengers in these parts.

View of the hill, which is Amedi:

Lalish

​We had to negotiate quite hard to get to Lalish. We got a ride with two other passengers who were going to Erbil, and since Lalish is sort of on the way, our driver dropped us at Shekhan and got us a ride with another driver to take us up to Lalish, wait for us and then drive us back to Duhok.

I struggled to find the words to describe Lalish, so please refer to this article on BBC Travel. Just enjoy my photos:

Yazidi women dressed in traditional clothing:

Entrance to the tomb of Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir at Lalish in Kurdistan: