MESOPOTAMIA
The most emotional journeys of my life have been to my own homeland Assyria/Mesopotamia, once a gracious kingdom, today a battle field. Like colonial division of Africa, Assyria was divided in to four; the current North Iraq, South East Turkey (TurAbdin), Syria and Iran. Following persecution and genocides Assyrians/Syriacs/Chaldeans scattered all over the world. It is so tragic that the cradle of civilization is losing its own indigenous people. Today the Diaspora is larger than the population in the homeland. My first journey back to my roots took me to South East Turkey (TurAbdin) for research. Later I got the chance to visit North Iraq and the Nineve plains with an NGO called Assyrians Without Borders (AWB). With long working days during both trips, there wasn’t much time for photography, but I couldn’t hold myself from capturing some shots in my own home.