Surveying, mapmaking, understanding a place from space

This episode explains the old Kurdish tradition of migration from warmer lowlands to the cool uplands by herders and their livestock in search of pastures.

The four main cities of the Kurdistan Region are each the seat of government and capital of a province of its own. They are Erbil, Slemani, Duhok and Halabja  

In this episode, I sit down with Haima Askari, a consultant and a diaspora Kurd from the US, whose background in economics, public policy, and disaster management shapes his perspective on Kurdistan's evolving society. The conversation addresses the core challenges of modernizing social security and shifting public trust away from government reliance toward a sustainable private sector.

Douglas Layton first came to Kurdistan in 1991 shortly after the formation of the autonomous region, and he has ever since been advocating for tourism in the Kurdistan Region and exploration of its nature, heritage, culture and history. He coined the phrase "The Other Iraq" to tell the world of the peace, stability and rebuilding process in the Kurdistan Region as opposed to the rest of Iraq. He is the Founder and Chairman of Explore Mesopotamia.

This episodes is a discussion with architect Sheenwar Siti about architecture in Kurdistan now and in the past, taking into account social, environmental, and economic factors. 

The guest of this episode is Erbil-based Political Analyst Lawk Ghafuri, who sheds light on Iraq's ongoing problem of sovereignty violations and militia groups.

This episode of Erbil Edition  is a conversation with Halwest Jamal, the host of Halwest News, an online Kurdish news channel based in Erbil.

Nabil Musa has spent the last 15 years advocating for the rivers and water sources of the Kurdistan Region through field activities, research, seminars, trainings and lobbying. He is one of the founders of Waterkeepers Iraq-Kurdistan. Based mainly in Slemani province, Musa works with water and environmental activists across the Kurdistan Region, Iraq and the world.

In this episode former US soldier, adventurer, Amideast country director Zack Bazzi tells us about US-Kurdish military, cultural and historic ties, horse riding in Central Asia, exploring the mountains of Kurdistan, and partnerships Amideast is creating among universities and educational institutions inside the Kurdistan Region and abroad.

MAPCOM CEO Mohammed Faisal tells us what it means to monitor the ground from space, the importance of satellite mapping, remote sensing and environmental impact assessment for development, climate work and infrastructure planning.