All language subtitles for Michael Palin - Into Iraq - S01E01.eng

I haven't travel led a lot recently.

I'm getting on a bit now.

I do need a doctor's letter
cos I had a heart operation,

not that you want to know this

but I did have
a couple of valves sorted

about two and a half years ago
and the doctor said,

"Yes, you can go to Iraq," so he's
obviously blithely confident.

I'm travelling alongside Lake Hazar

and it really has
quite a magical appeal for me

because this is the source
of the River Tigris.

Look at that.

It's gorgeous.

I'll be following the Tigris
for over 1,000 miles,

into and through Iraq.

It's a part of the world I've been
fascinated by since I was a child

but have never been to before.

Yeah, a few years ago,

if you said you were going to Iraq,
people just say,

you know, good luck, that's it.

I love that and that's the kind
of travelling I really enjoy.

Go somewhere that most people don't
normally go to

because that's the way to explore,

that's the way to learn something
about yourself and the place.

I'm going now just to see a country
that's had a terrible present

but an extraordinary past.

Iraq.

A country defined by decades of war
and conflict.

To the world, it seems Iraq cannot
escape its violent past.

But I want to discover what life is
like inside a country that is trying

to look to the future.

When you think of Iraq,
they know the famous places

but they don't know what Iraq is.

Following the River Tigris
from north to south...

This is why I like travelling -

on the Tigris,
going through Baghdad.

...|'ll be travelling across
a country that, 6,000 years ago,

was the birthplace of civilisation.

You know,
I never thought I would say,

"This is Michael Palin in Babylon."

A country that, today, is full
of surprises.

But this is one of the most
dangerous places in the world

and my journey will have
its challenges.

Oh, no. Closed down.

On the horizon, the palaces that
Saddam Hussein built.

So, I want to get beyond
the military checkpoints

and see a different side
of a country

that is home to 40 million people.

Most places would have the handrail
there as well as here.

Extraordinary, really.

I've always liked the idea of
following a great river from source

to sea, which is why my journey is
beginning in Turkey.

In this first section,

I'll follow the Tigris
through Turkey,

to the border with Iraq,

then on to the battle-damaged city
of Mosul,

before heading East to Erbil
and the village of Akre.

Indeed, the end of the line.

My first stop is Diyarbakir.

Over 5,000 years old,

this Turkish city stands on
the western bank of the Tigris.

A river that has given life to
this part of the world

throughout human history.

There it is.

My first view of the Tigris.

Looking mighty already.

Really very impressive.

It's on the other side too.

It's amazing.

Goes there, disappears
and comes out the other side.

Next to the Tigris are the black
basalt walls of the Roman fortress

that still encircles this
ancient city.

It's 1,000-year-old mosque is
of great importance

in the Islamic world.

I'm stopping here because Diyarbakir
is known as being the centre of

Turkey's large Kurdish population.

English. English, yes.
Speak Kurdish?

Ah, I don't speak Kurdish,
I'm afraid.

An indigenous, ethnic group of
around 30 million people

spread across Turkey, Iraq,
Iran and Syria.

Kurds have their own culture
and language

but don't have their own country.

Wanting to learn more about
the Kurds,

I've been invited to dinner
at a local barbecue restaurant.

The kidney?

What's that? Kidney and liver?

Liver. Yeah, liver.
I quite like liver.

I don't have it very often.

Dilan Kaya was born in Diyarbakir

and is of Kurdish descent.

Like many Kurds, she feels
they're treated unfavourably

by the Turkish government.

OK, yeah. He's preparing that, yeah.

Oh, thank you. Wow. Yes.

This is lovely. This is really good.
Yeah, did you like it?

Yeah. It's quite spicey.

Thank you. It's good.

So, do you feel Turkish or Kurdish?

Yeah, I feel Kurdish. Yeah.

Yeah, because, yeah, my mum's,
my feeling,

my roots, my culture is...
Yes, I'm Kurdish.

So, is there discrimination?

One hears that there is
because the Kurds have wanted

to have their independence
for a long, long time.

Yes, actually, especially in 1990s,

a lot of people faced torture

just because they speak
their mother language, Kurdish.

It was actually banned to speak in
the open space.

Really? Yeah.

Although the Kurdish language is
no longer banned,

neither is it recognised
by the Turkish government

or taught in schools.

We are going next to Iraq.

What will the situation be
like there?

Will Kurds be freer there
than they are here?

They have a chance to talk
their mother language.

Actually people was happy in
here also.

Just across the border, in Iraq,

Kurds have achieved a large degree
of independence,

something many Kurds in Turkey
dream of.

The Kurds, you have
a great strength, obviously,

you believe that you are Kurdish
and you're not Turkish

or you're not Iraqi and
that's never going to change.

Yes. You're not gonna be absorbed.
You're not gonna be assimilated.

As you know, it's not easy to
assimilate us any more.

We are not in 1990s.
It is not like the past.

Like many Kurds, Dilan hopes there
will one day be a Kurdish state.

But for now, all she wants is
a greater degree of autonomy

and respect.

The next day, we drive
60 miles south to Mardin,

our finals top before Iraq.

Only 30 miles from the border,

it's the perfect place
to spend the night,

assuming you can find the hotel.

I'm looking for a hotel,
called Mardius.

Ah.

Taxi?

Hi.

CAR HORN BEEPS

Either have a heart attack
or you get run over.

Can't believe
there's a hotel up here.

I think I might be
in the wrong country

as well as the wrong town.

Nothing happening up there.

Is that it?

No.

Might need oxygen at this point.

Ah.

I need a long lie down now.

Bet you do too.

You're so patient. You're beautiful.

Are you the manager?

Hmm, be nice if you were

because you seem to have a good
managerial style.

You stay calm.

Mardin's challenging lay out is due
to the fact it was built into

the side of a steep hill
over 3,000 years ago.

Close to both Syria and Iraq,

it's something of
a cultural crossroads.

It's winding lanes are
full of charm...

Blinking pigeons everywhere.

They come out from there.

...and unusual activities.

Wow. Actually, that's incredible!

You see that?

That's amazing.

Pigeon training is a serious
business in this part of the world.

A perfect mid-air flip can win
respect and money.

These aerial athletes are
in training for competition.

I've seen some things

but a sky full of somersaulting
pigeons has to be...

...has to be the first time ever.

Thank you.

I don't know how you get them to
do that,

but you obviously, sort of,
pay them well.

BYe, pigeons.

It's time for me to move on

and Mardin offers me a glimpse of
what is coming next.

That is the most extraordinary view

and I'm looking over a vast plane,

which the Greeks had a word
for, Mesopotamia,

land between two rivers,
the Euphrates and the Tigris.

Tomorrow, I'll be taking the route
down the Tigris to Iraq.

As night falls, I'm not ashamed to
admit a slight sense of trepidation

as to what tomorrow will bring.

In the morning, I'll be entering
a country once described

as being on the axis of evil.

The next morning, we make our way to
the Iraq border.

It does seem, as you get close to
the border points,

it's always the same.

Everything becomes rather,
sort of, rough and unattractive,

the buildings all tend to be,
sort of, official or military,

there's a lot of watchtowers,
but there we are.

Watchtower up there and barbed wire.

There's a lot of barbed wire,
barbed wire and lorries.

The Ibrahim Khalil border
is the only land crossing

for travellers from Turkey
into Iraq.

Where are going,
which vehicles are we in?

And nothing about getting into Iraq
is easy.

What's happening now is that
we're having to unload all the bags

from the vehicles
that brought us down here

into special vehicles
which take us up to the border.

And so the whole lot's got to
be relocated.

Once we get to the border
and we cross the border,

then it has to be taken out of
these vans and into other vans.

So, basically, it's work for
van drivers.

Borders are always places of
extreme tension and confusion.

People don't really look at Iraq
but they do consume the news...

Helping us negotiate the various
hurdles of crossing the border

is Middle East expert James Wilcox.

What can I expect from here on?

I mean, it depends what you're
looking for in Iraq.

If you're going there
with the expectation of, you know,

the War on Terror, the Gulf War,
all of that stuff,

you'll see some of that, you know,

some of the problems they've had
with Isis,

but if you go with some open eyes
and you look at the country

and you look for the history
of the country,

the culture, the people
and talk to people,

I think you'll be surprised
at how interesting it will be.

This is the cradle of civilisation.
Yeah, yeah.

Mesopotamia is where writing began,

where irrigation began, where humans
gathered as people to make community

and we will see some of that.

So, I shouldn't be afraid?

It's always good to be cautious,

Michael, but you shouldn't
be afraid.

OK, shall we go?

Yes, go. Let's go.

Eventually, we make our way to
the Turkish side of the border.

Predictably, as soon as they see
our cameras...

No shooting, no shooting.

...we're told to stop filming.

The thing seems to be moving,
doesn't it?

For the next few hours,

we find ourselves trapped in Iraqi
inertia, which we attempt to film.

It's like a series of
reoccurring procedures.

You all get out,
you all get in again.

You all get out.
You all get in again.

Still hoping to cling on to the hope
that we'll suddenly leave.

Oh, yes, they're moving now, look.

Ominously, night starts to fall.

But eventually, after many delays
and phone calls to officials,

we're allowed to cross into Iraq.

And we're met by our local fixer
and drivers.

And he sent me a paper.

I say, it's unbelievable
that you've come on.

But are we gonna need to show
this paper?

He said, in case of any problems,
in Arabic,

you can just show him this paper.

I don't know
what they're talking about.

Everyone was very interested,
everyone was very interested.

He's very upset it took so long
to get through.

Very nice of him to apologise.

As I look around, everything looks
and sounds very different here.

The thunderous roar of freight
trucks sets an aggressive tone.

I'm now in Iraq, one of the most
dangerous countries in the world.

Sandwiched between Turkey and Iran,

Iraq is a country
of 40 million people.

Driving first to Mosul,

I'll be following the Tigris
for most of my journey,

heading south towards Baghdad

and then down to Basra

and eventually the Persian Gulf.

In the last 20 years,

this country has had to deal with
the Iraq war,

widespread insurgency
and the rise of Isis.

With a very real risk of kidnapping
and roadside attacks,

this trip has taken months
of planning.

As we set out this morning,
I just saw across the road,

a big sign with two destinations
on it,

Baghdad and Mosul

and I realised these are not just
ordinary destinations,

they're, sort of,
riddled with significance

and the drama of recent history
of Iraq.

Mosul was such a damaged city,

so I think that'll be...
that'll be quite...

...something quite powerful to see.

I'm heading to Mosul,

a city of 4 million people

that was captured by the Islamic
extremist group, Isis, in 2014.

We're just crossing the Tigris now
into the other bank of the river

and you can just see,
for the first time...

...the extraordinary scale of...

...the damage to the city,
just on the right there,

a building, a big, solid building,
twisted up,

tilted up and thrown around.

In 2016, the Iraqi army and
international forces launched

a massive military campaign
to flush out Isis,

which left the city shattered.

Must have been tremendous amount
of firing

because the walls are peppered
with holes.

Although the fighting ended
five years ago,

this ancient city still resembles
a war zone.

Estimates suggest more than 10,000
civilians were killed in the battle

to free Mosul
from the Isis Caliphate.

The historical city
on the west bank of the Tigris

was almost totally destroyed.

This is an area of Mosul,

residential area,
families crammed together,

and during the battle after they
tried to get rid of Isis or Daesh,

who were here for three years
running this city,

and then, the final assault,
they just destroyed it,

they destroyed
as much as they could.

You can just see these were just
ordinary people's houses

with bits of glass, there are tiles,
a sort of, old sofa,

everything now just swept to
one side.

But, at the moment, the thing is
it's silent, it's very silent,

but what it must have been like
during the fighting here

for families who were still here,

just the noise and the cacophony,

and the fire and the sound of
the bombs and the bullets

and yet, some people had to
live here,

had to continue to live here.

They had nowhere else to go.

They were just caught in the fire

and now look.

With so much destruction,

you'd think there's no life here
but, to my surprise, there is.

Hello.

How are you?

Good?

Do you know any English?

Hello.

OK, he's got a catapult.

That looks dangerous that.
Looks dangerous.

How about that one?

OK.

There we are.

Bit like that, OK.

Wow. Yeah.

What's your name?

Hamoudi.

Hamoudi? Hamoudi. Hamoudi.
Your name?

Yakin. Yakin. Yakin.

Yatin, Yatin.

I'm Mike, Michael.

Beautiful.

Beautiful? Yeah, beautiful,
that's very nice.

I'll take any compliment I can get.

It's sad, it's sad,
all these houses, fallen down.

Were you here
when there was fighting? Yes.

What was it like? Terrible.

Ah, yes, yes.

Clouds. Yes.

It's just great to see you smiling,

I mean, that's something
in the middle of all this.

Fuck me.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean that.

I've just been, you know, it's hard.

You just see the devastation,

the great slabs of concrete
lying down at angle 45 degrees,

whole rooms have just collapsed
one on top of the other,

and you get people here,
"Yeah, yeah,

"I saw that, I was in the middle
of that."

Wow.

It's their innocence.

They didn't do all this.
They just suffered it.

Anyway, I must be
a bit more cheerful, mustn't I?

Yes, I must be a bit more cheerful.

OK, let's see if we can find
somewhere that's fun.

During the occupation, Isis
subjected the people of Mosul

to their strict and brutal
interpretation of Sharia Law.

Harith Shakur was a teenager during
the occupation.

What were the main changes
under the Daesh

in your daily life?

What could you do
and what couldn't you do?

There were a lot of changes,
you know.

They made certain rules
about the way you dress.

You can't, like, dress
in the modern way.

You couldn't wear this?

Yeah, I could not wear this.

I mean, you must have lived in
constant fear because, presumably,

they could have come and got you
and taken you away?

Of course, of course.

I mean, like you cannot go out
having your phone with you.

As soon as they get your phone

and it has the sim card in it,
you will get killed immediately.

Really?

Yeah, I lost...| lost, like, two of
my friends.

They... One of them died

and the other one got his hand
cut off.

I didn't go to school.

As soon as they came, they said,
if you are going to school,

you have to dress like us
and you have to train like us

and you have to carry weapons.

It was almost like training
for something they wanted.

Yes, they wanted you to be
as fanatical

and single minded as they were.
Yeah, yeah.

And not have all the other interests
that you have in your life.

They tried to insert their own ideas
into the minds of the young people.

Although there's been little
rebuilding in the old city,

the rest of Mosul suffered
less damage

and is coming back to life.

And on a sunny weekend afternoon,

the cafes on the banks of the Tigris
seemed far from the destruction

I saw earlier.

Harith and his friend, Adol, are
both studying at the university.

It's almost the only proper place
you can come with your family,

you can sit down, have a drink,
to get rid of the whole week stress.

I was going to say cheers,

but we say that if we're drinking
a vodka or a gin and tonic.

Do either of you drink?

No. No.

Don't drink and we don't smoke.

Yeah? Yeah.

That's why you look
so incredibly healthy.

I don't like it.

No, but, how do you see yourself
in five years' time?

What do you think you'll be doing?

We're planning on going to Europe
to study.

Hopefully, when we return,
the situation is much better,

we can serve our community
in a proper way,

in a way they deserve it.

So, you're both very loyal
to the city, to Mosul, really?

Yeah. Well, that's good.

You know, we, the people,
always stick on hope,

we always know there's a chance for
a better future, a brighter future.

Although we went through a lot,

we went through a lot
of difficulties

and a lot of hard times,

but we have this kind of belief.

Well, you look at all the children
here, they're only that high,

they can't remember all this,
they're gonna grow up.

You must move on, this is life.

Well, there we are. Yeah.
We're philosophers.

We are three philosophers
by the Tigris.

Feeling much inspired
by the people I've met,

it's time to wave goodbye to Mosul
and head east to Erbil.

All's going well.

I can see the city, I think,
over there.

Even though it's just 50 miles away,

Erbil did not fall under
Isis control.

And on first appearance,
it looks like a different world.

Erbil looks rather swanky.

Miles and miles of neon
framing all the buildings,

and there's our hotel,

which looks like the Empire
State Building.

Erbil is the capital of
Iraqi Kurdistan, an area of Iraq

that is seen as one of the safer
and wealthier parts of the country.

Thank you.

And the gleaming marble floors
of the Divan Hotel

come as something of a culture shock
after Mosul.

Hi, how are you? Very well,
thank you, very well.

Welcome to Divan Hotel.
Very nice to be here.

We are glad to meet you here.

I'm about to see
a very different side of Iraq.

After a night
in my very comfortable room,

I wake up to my first sight of Erbil
in daylight.

With luxury apartment blocks,

global brands and nine billionaires,

Erbil has many of the signs of

increasing and sometimes
ostentatious wealth.

This is a gated community
round here.

It's called Dream City

and you can realise your dreams
by having houses built

to whatever size and scale you want.

There's one here, which is...
HE CHUCKLES

I mean, this is like
the White House,

it's a replica of the White House
in Washington.

But it's quite interesting

because I sensed,
when we came into Erbil,

which I hadn't expected at all,
the Americanness of the place.

There was a lot of neon strips
around the buildings,

there were big car showrooms,
brightly lit.

Everything looked very, sort of,
showy and glitzy

and, you know, we can do it,
go for it, sort of feeling.

So, I suppose having a White House
of your very own is just

a consummation of Erbil's
love affair with America.

You know, it doesn't say the price.

Well, I'm not gonna buy it.

The Kurdish love of America is
not really that surprising.

They both loath Saddam Hussein

and after he was deposed,
the Kurds did very well,

benefitting from
international support,

large oil reserves
and a better grip on security.

This new wealth has even created
its own breed of hipster tailors...

So, this is the fabric
that we have chose for you.

...known as Mr Erbil.

Ancl the fabric that we chose,
it's more summer forward.

Having sent the measurements in
advance, I'm here for my fitting.

I mean, it came out good, actually.

Mr Erbilwas born on social media
when a group of sharp-suited friends

started posting photos
of themselves.

Now, they're bringing back
high quality tailoring

for the wealthy few
who can afford their £1,000 suits.

Hello. Hi. How do you do? Ahmed.

Ahmed. It's a pleasure.

Ahmed Nawzad is one of the founders
of Mr Erbil.

For a gentleman, we all need
a proper suit. Yeah.

Maybe just one or two is enough.
Yeah.

A grey, navy one, which will enough
for every occasion which you need

but you need a proper suit
to look good,

to look fitted and to feel,
most important, satisfied and happy.

It's about a lifestyle, isn't it?

When you talk, you make me feel,
you know...

...well, I don't know,
slightly shabby.

I mean, there is certainly an image
at home, in our minds, of Iraq

as a troubled place where things
don't work and all that,

so, I mean, is it important to you

for Iraq itself to, you know,
have successes like this

and to be known for things
that can be achieved.

I mean, we try to change the image

and we always try to show
the positive sides.

Yes, the war has affected.

Yes, Isis were, like, 30 minutes
away from here

and it has affected this region,
in general.

But there is always,
there is always a positive side

and I think we also need to
show that

and not only the negative side
by itself.

Mr Erbil has given me my first sense
of what the future could look like

for Iraq.

But Erbil also has strong
connections to the past.

It's citadel still towers
over the city

and has done for 6,000 years.

At its heart is a huge Kurdish flag.

Standing in front of the citadel,

I look down to its bustling plaza,

the city's main gathering point
surrounded by bazaars and cafes.

From the walls of the citadel,
looking out,

you can see that Erbil is jumping

because this is Newroz,
new year for the Kurdish people.

Newroz is the Kurdish celebration
of spring.

The whole place is buzzing with
people buying traditional costumes

for tomorrow's festivities.

Deep inside the bazaar,
is Mam Khalil's Teashop,

which has been here since 1952.

Serving stupendously sweet glasses
of tea for its regulars,

the walls of Mam Khalil's are
covered in photos of the great men

of Erbil's recent history.

Everyone whose ever had tea here.

And after a few days in Iraq,

I've started to notice how many men
there are

and how few women.

This is still
a very male-dominated society.

It's a lively place, your city...
Very much, yeah. ..today. Yeah.

It's Newroz time,
it's the new year time for us,

so people come here to enjoy time
and take pictures.

Huda Sarhang is something
of a rarity here.

She's a Kurdish businesswoman.

I notice here it's a mixed group
of people, men and women.

Downstairs, mainly men.

How do you find it working in
what seems here to be a man's world?

Yeah, because we're
a male-dominated society,

it's double challenging for women
to start a business.

People think you, as a woman,

you don't have the capacity,
or the capability to manage

or lead a business.

So, you are in a position
to...| have to prove,

while, if you're a man,
you don't need to prove.

You just start and if you succeed,
that's amazing,

if you fail, that's OK.

But, if you're a woman, if you fail,
oh, she's a woman, that's why.

So, there is that.

Huda was born at a time when
Kurdish people faced persecution

outside of Kurdistan.

Saddam Hussein carried out
a campaign of genocide against them.

What was it like in the Saddam days?

So many things you've gone through.

I remember it as dark.

You know, there are dark memories
and bright memories.

Those, my childhood time was
dark memories

when it comes to that time,
in the '90s.

So, I was born in 1992,
right after the uprising here,

the Kurdish uprising.

So, we had so many, you know,
bad situations happening here.

Life-threatening situations,
I suppose. Yes. Yes.

Things have, thankfully,
now improved.

How do you see the situation of
Kurds here in Kurdistan?

There are more rights,
more freedoms,

you're an autonomous region -

that must make a difference.

Compared to the Kurds in Iran,
in Turkey and in Syria,

we have a very good situation.

At least we can...you know,
we speak Kurdish,

our education is in
our own language,

I can rise my flag,

we have a parliament,

these are good indications and good.

After a day in Erbil,

it's easy to think life is good
in Iraqi Kurdistan,

but many say it's only good
for the lucky few

and there are also huge problems
with corruption and inequality,

which has resulted in a steady flow
of refugees fleeing the country.

But today is very much
about celebration.

It's the 20th of March
and it's Newroz,

the Kurdish new year,

and I have an appointment
with my tailor.

Hello.
Hi. Happy Newroz, by the way.

Happy Newroz to you.

Oh.

We ll. .. We ll?

How do you feel? This is the most
important thing.

Feels fine, yeah, feels very good.
Yeah. We also loosen up.

You've loosened it up a lot, yes,
that's rather good,

that's rather nice.

Wanna check it in the mirror?

Lovely as it is,

I suspect the jacket is a bit smart
for what I've planned for Newroz...

Very nice.

I like this. I wouldn't
normally have a tail on a coat,

but...there you go.

Yeah, that's very nice.

...because, like many Kurds today,
I'm heading into the countryside.

I'm about now 100km north of Erbil.

You tend to think of Iraq as
very flat, desert-y,

but, actually, there are mountains,
especially up here in Kurdistan,

they are, sort of, mountain people,
really.

Anyway, this is their big day,
Newroz.

And for any self-respecting Kurd
in Iraq,

there's only one place to be
at Newroz.

Look at this. This is spectacular.

Fairly gigantic mountain scenery.

This is the mountain town of Akre.

For one day each year,

it becomes the focal point of
Kurdish celebrations

and I'm told it gets pretty wild.

Over 100,000 Kurds descend
on the town of Akre every March.

They're all here to celebrate
the start of spring

and the Kurdish new year.

The town centre is loud and crowded

but after two years without Newroz,
thanks to Covid...

...it feels like people are more than
ready to celebrate.

Try and find a quiet spot.

The main celebrations don't start
until the evening

but the mountains are already full
with people.

From down here,

you can see the top
of the mountain there,

a whole line of people,

like an ant-like stream of
people going.

It's still early afternoon.

It's going to be a few hours before
they start the fireworks.

Kurdistan's flags,
you can see one up there,

it must be 100 foot long.

So, the mountains are gradually,
sort of, coming alive.

Braving the crowds,
I decide to climb the mountain

but I feel like
I'm swimming upstream.

How do you see Kurdistan?

Amazing. Amazing? Very noisy.
First time?

Very noisy, very steep.

Yes, it's very noisy, yes.
But it's a special occasion.

But I want you to be careful,
walk carefully. OK?

Thank you. Thank you very much.
Welcome to Kurdistan.

Nice to meet you. I appreciate that,
nice to meet you, mate.

As I walk up the hill,

a couple of people offer to explain
Newroz to me.

FIREWORK BANGS AND CRACKLES

I'm trying to make sense of it all.

It's a big, sort of, Kurdish event
really, obviously, isn't it?

You celebrate... Yeah, Akre is also
known as the capital of Newroz,

of Kurdistan region. Really?
OK, OK. Yeah.

Yeah, so this is the capital
of Newroz,

that's why all people
from all cities of the country,

they come here to celebrate Newroz.

Yeah, and what happens?

I know there's fireworks and all
that. What happens this evening?

There are some traditional songs.

All of us will sing the same song.

All together? And fire, yeah.
All on the mountain?

Here is a song.

That's always representing
that event.

What's the song called?
I mean, what does it mean?

Newroz. Newroz?

Yeah, the name of this event,
yeah, a new clay.

Yeah, yeah, a new day.

Yeah, a new clay
and we are clapping like this.

Noi-noi-noise is important.

Noise is so important
for Kurdish people.

And one thing I wanted to ask you is
the traditional costume.

I'm gonna start with the shoes.

We call this one klash.

You can wear it however you want -
you can do it this way

or we can just flip it all the way

and then, in couple of minutes, it's
gonna take the shape of your foot,

like, you can just wear it normally.

I find that in the morning
sometimes!

I get confused and it wouldn't
matter if I was Kurdish.

All you need is one of these.

Yeah, I need one of those
or two of those.

I've seen this colour everywhere,
the grey, white and black.

Does it have to be that colour?

Yeah, no, we have the red one also.

It's otherwise red or black.

We call it jam an a.

They wear it like this.
Let me try it for you.

Come here. Do you wanna try?

You can try it. Put it on me,
yeah. OK.

They do it like this, I think,
but not in that same way.

Probably they are doing it better
than what she's doing now but, yeah.

OK. Yeah, that feels nice
and comfortable. Happy Newroz, man.

I'm warm at last. Yeah. Oh,
my God, that's cool.

Like this, for example.
Wow, thank you, thank you.

Yeah, guys, celebrate him.
APPLAUSE

Thank you. Very, very kind,
thank you very much.

Halmat and Gashbeen are staying down
here for the evening

but I'm carrying on.

I'm heading halfway up the mountain
to get an up-close view

of the torchlit procession.

Newroz is a little like Glastonbury
meets Apocalypse Now.

The sound of music and fireworks...

...offset against that of
rapid gunfire and tracer bullets.

This is where 1,000 torches
will be lit,

before being marched up the mountain
as night falls.

It's a very friendly place up here,
as you can see.

Despite the sound of gunfire,

which rather alarmingly echoes round
the mountains,

it's very friendly, a place
to chill out, meet your friends.

How are you, sir?

Don't know who you are.

OK, farewell.

See? It's a social event, basically.

LOUD BANGS

There is a thin veneer of
organisation and security at Newroz,

but as I'm learning in Iraq,

chaos tends to reign supreme.

SHOUTING

They're just about to light
the torches.

Um, which they'll then carry up
the mountain.

The torches are all lined up there.

Haven't seen one lit yet but
when it...

When they start lighting,
there'll be a whole procession.

You can see - complete madness there
as people are trying to get there.

MEN SHOUT

Yeah, this is what we call mayhem.

It's a bit like a local, sort of,
council meeting in England,

you know the kind.

Meanwhile, the hills are alive
with the sound of gunfire.

Not knowing exactly where
the torches are to be lit,

we suddenly find ourselves
in the middle of the scrum

of rather over enthusiastic
torch bearers.

CH EERING AND CHANTING

Wow, here, it's happening.

God.

Jesus, that's hot.

That's very, very hot
and they're all going past.

I'm sure it's picturesque

but it's a little bit...getting
a bit warm.

And then, out of the fiery chaos,

comes something quite beautiful.

In both Iraq and Turkey,

life has not been easy
for the Kurdish people

but this feels like a moment
of triumph.

Extraordinary, really.

My first few days in Iraq really
have been a baptism of fire

but I know this is just
the beginning.

Tomorrow, as I head south
on the road to Baghdad,

I will be entering federal Iraq,

a very different place

to the relative safety
and security of Iraqi Kurdistan.

Next time...

I travel to the oil fields
of Kirkuk...

Oil was never good for this country.

It was always the source of problem.

...visit Saddam Hussein's
home town...

Right here, 1,700 young men
massacred and thrown into the river.

...arrive in Baghdad,
the capital of Iraq...

We passed through the security
into the Green Zone.

We can't eat in there
because men only. Yeah.

...and travel back in time
to the cradle of civilisation.

Which way are you? All right.
Yeah, you fall off, not me.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media