User:Zaxohaha

Marsis is one of the Kurdish villages that are located on the Turkish-Kurdistan border. It is one of the Sindy Psakha tribal villages that are living in northern Iraq. To be more precise, it is located northeast of Zakho city. It is about 38 km from Darkar town and it is 25 km from Allanshe village in Turkey. The number of families that were living there in 1960s was about 95 families. The name Marsis comes from a Christian scholar whose name was Margogis.

There are many mountains in the village, such as Kokhe Karchin, Lataziyarate, Kokhe Hawale, Lataspi, Latasie, Kafra Khalef, Lata Shame, Kafra Dazgr, Kafra Sor, Zafra Kolika, and Khamteer Mountain. Marsis has a famous river which is called Heezle River. This river is between Kurdistan and Turkey in a very strategic place.

The village's weather is normal compared to the other mountain areas. The weather is very cold and there is so much snow. In summer the weather is really cool. The land is good for agriculture; in the past people were working and trading with animals and doing business in agriculture.

The village's historical places: First, Kafree's Palace is one of oldest places there. Second, there was an area there in the prophet Issa’s time called Silave. Issa sent some people there for religious separation, and until now Christian people visit one of the graves there, located in Galie Psakha.

Religion of Marsis: The history of the village is very old. It was built 2000 years ago, and Christians were living there in that time. Over time, Muslims came there. It has one mosque, and the first Imam was Mala Khalil. Moreover, children of the village were studying in the mosque and learning the Quran and reading and writing. In 1930, a school was built by the Iraqi government.

The people of the village have participated in all Kurdish revolutions against the Iraqi government. The Iraqi government was always attacking them because they were helping Peshmerga, giving them food and giving them place to do their plans.

In 1978 the PKK was established in Turkey against the Turkish government. But in 1980 the PKK came to Zakho, and the Iraqi government was aware of that. They opened unofficial branches in Zakho. Then, in the 1991 Kurdistan uprising, the PKK went to the Kurdistan mountains and stayed there until now. The PKK is a big conflict for the people of Iraqi Kurdistan, especially for the villages on the border, because Turkey's army is always attacking there, and civilians die because of the PKK.

The PKK and the Turkish army fight in Marsis village. People from the village cannot visit there because of them. Moreover, about 4 months ago, four men went there for a picnic. One of them, a 28-year-old who is called A.... (he did not want to share his name), said that they visited there for a picnic and the PKK was there. Before they arrived, the PKK attacked the Turkish army's positions. But when they arrived, Turkey responded to the PKK's attack, and PKK members were near them. So Turkey attacked both the PKK and those who were on a picnic. “We were 4 friends,” he said. “All of us were wounded and we could not drive the car to run away.” So he said, “I am not going to my village anymore until the PKK leave from there.”

One of the old men from Marsis is named is A..., and he was born in 1957. I asked him, “Why is the PKK in your village, and what is their plan, because they are a political party in Turkey?” He said, “Yes, the PKK is a Turkish political party, but until now we asked the PKK's leader and commander, ‘Why don't you go to Turkey to do your activities?’ They say to us, ‘We are Kurdish. We can go everywhere, and we are here. We will build an independent Kurdish state.’”