This post is Part II of the story of the trip to Sulaimaniya on August 18, 2012. In my previous post we had stopped
to visit the hometurf of some of the Kurdish peshmerga, or freedom fighters.
From there we continued on our return trip to Erbil/Ankawa. The next point of interest was Dokan Lake. It is the largest lake in Iraqi Kurdisatn. It was created in the late 1950's when the Little Zab River was dammed up.
While there, Mr. Nabil spoke to one of the local boatmen. Nabil then arranged for us to go out on the lake in this fellow's boat, with the local being the Captain, of course!
Our Captain.
Our boat is the white one in the foreground. Eight people touring the lake and not a single life vest on the boat.
The Coast Guard would have had a field day!
We had a very pleasant boat ride, touring the lake. It was quite unexpected! It was nice to get out on so much water in a land that seems to have so little.
Good things must come to an end, and it was soon time to continue towards Ankawa. Our next stop would be Koya City.
While there, we stopped to visit an ancient/shrine/church dedicated to Mar Behnam or Marbina for short. The church was built in the 4th century, on a hill to the northwet of Koya, where Sara, the sister of Mar Behnam, had been healed by Mar Matta. You can read more about Mar Behnam by going to the following link:
About Mar Behnam
It was Mar Matta, whose monastery we had visited some weeks earlier on the roadtrip to Alqosh, who had converted Mar Behnam (Marbina).
The front of Marbina.
Cross above the door.
Inside the main chamber of the church. 
Back side of church with the 4 symbols of the Gospels near the roof line.
Symbol for Luke's Gospel: The ox.
Symbol for Mark's Gospel: The lion.
Symbol for John's Gospel: The eagle.
Statue of Sara, sister of Mar Behnam.
While at Marbina, the caretaker offered us the traditional hospitality of tea and biscuits. Soon we were on our way back to Ankawa. The sun was setting, the end of Ramada was minutes away.
Also coming to an end very soon was our time together. Most of the expats had already returned home. Mary would leave the following evening. Today was our last day to work at the school. Tonight, Tuesday evening, August 21, as I write this, I know that Tom and Elliot will not be with us in the morning for breakfast. Then Erin will leave tomorrow afternoon. This time tomorrow, Kathy and I will be the only 2 expats, who are not working at Mar Qardakh the coming school year, yet to return home.
jw
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