E F R I N H I S T O R Y
The Kurdish people compose one of the ancient nations of the Middle East. Kurdistan, the land of the Kurds, is spread among several modern states: northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and small parts of Armenia. There is no exact figure to the Kurdish population because each state has tended to downplay the number of Kurds within its own borders. Nevertheless, according to various estimates, the Kurdish population is estimated to range between 25 to 30 million. This makes the Kurds the fourth largest ethnic people of the Middle East.
Ain Dara Situated on a tell above the beautiful Afrin Valley, Ain Dara has remnants of many eras, but is principally a site of neo-Hittite remains dating to the 1st millennium BC. Lions and sphinxes were common themes and a frieze of scuplted lions and sphinxes runs around the lower portion of the temple. Interestingly there are four giant “Yeti” footprints on three steps leading to the entrance - it has been suggested that such imprints were designed to show that the god or goddess had visited the temple.