Error occured during this request! Please try again later.
-
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Mam Khidr and a shepherd herd this flock of special goats in the mountainous areas of Shawre valley in Sulaimani’s Ranya District.
This type of goat, known as Maraza in Kurdish, is a sub-breed of wild Bezoar ibexes.
They tire their caretakers, often climbing up high on rocks and trees.
“They don’t like plains, they like to eat on the mountains. They climb up the trees to eat leaves,” says Khidr Sorkan, the owner of the goats.
“The Bezoar ibexes climb to places where humans can’t, so do these goats. Believe me, they get stuck [between the rocks of the mountains], I don’t dare help them. They get out themselves,” he added.
This type of goat has been treasured by the people of Kurdistan for a long time.
The soft fur is called Maraza, like the breed itself, and is mainly used to produce expensive Kurdish costumes for men.
However, Kurds value Maraza goats for more than just their fur. The breed’s milk and meat is alleged to be superior in taste.
Habiba Mustafa, Khidr’s wife says, “a normal goat has more milk, but in terms of taste, this milk is better. It’s lighter to make yoghurt and cheese from it.”
Reporting by Bakhtiyar Qadir
This type of goat, known as Maraza in Kurdish, is a sub-breed of wild Bezoar ibexes.
They tire their caretakers, often climbing up high on rocks and trees.
“They don’t like plains, they like to eat on the mountains. They climb up the trees to eat leaves,” says Khidr Sorkan, the owner of the goats.
“The Bezoar ibexes climb to places where humans can’t, so do these goats. Believe me, they get stuck [between the rocks of the mountains], I don’t dare help them. They get out themselves,” he added.
This type of goat has been treasured by the people of Kurdistan for a long time.
The soft fur is called Maraza, like the breed itself, and is mainly used to produce expensive Kurdish costumes for men.
However, Kurds value Maraza goats for more than just their fur. The breed’s milk and meat is alleged to be superior in taste.
Habiba Mustafa, Khidr’s wife says, “a normal goat has more milk, but in terms of taste, this milk is better. It’s lighter to make yoghurt and cheese from it.”
Reporting by Bakhtiyar Qadir
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment