User talk:Sarhad Argoshy

Beyond Mergasur and Sherwan Mazin, beyond Miruz and Shive, is the remote village of Argosh. With "as many springs as there are days in the year", Argosh was once one of the largest mountain villages in the Kurdistan Region. Following destruction and forced dislocation by the regime of Saddam Hussein, and harassment by the Turkish military and PKK, Argosh is finally being resettled.

(Since the 1991 liberation, many aspects of the Kurdistan Region have been changing, and much much more so since the 2003 liberation. Of the 4,000+ villages destroyed, more than 3,000 have been reconstructed and resettled to some extent with shelters/houses, safe water systems, primary schools and health centers, and motorable access roads.)

Getting to Argosh is an exciting challenge. The road from Chame Bridge to Miruz is not so bad, but needs paving. From Miruz to Shive it's more difficult, needing both sub-base work and paving.

From Shive to Argosh, however, is the real challenge. There is no road. The only way is to walk for 10 kilometers or so, or use a 4LA (4-legged animal: donkey, mule, horse).

Actually, this is not quite true. From Shive to Argosh, a daring feat is underway to carve a zig-zag road up and over a 600+ meter precipitous mountain face. Imagine the intestinal fortitude (aka guts) of the trailblazing bulldozer operator! (It's been done before. Don't miss the road down to Kani Chinar, near Dure.) A clutch-burning 4WD road has been cut most of the way. No problem for a LandCruiser.

The 4 Heads view is from a hill overlooking Argosh. On the other side is Turkey. Guides were quick to point out that the border does not run through the top, but is farther down the other side.

It's a good day trip from Erbil.

And it's a tough life in the bush.