Resumo de The Dum Dum Castle

This is a story about a Kurdish tribe revolted against the Safavid Empire in 16 century in Kurdistan, West Iran. Their leader Khanui Lap Zerin who used to be one of Shah Abbas army leaders turned against him and built a castle and gathered warriors from his tribe and other tribes in the area to defend themselves against the Persian Empire. I have translated it from a Kurdish story written about 50 years ago and done some research and found some historical facts about the story.

Chapter 1

Dum Dum castle and its community are huddled at the waist of a high chains of Mountains, its rocky tips and its sharp cliff are over-looking the castle town of about 400 people. The castle community consists of about 60 families, visitors, merchants and the castle worriers who are adding many to the castle population..

The castle is situated on a mostly flat area, fenced with a 50 foot highand a10 foot wide brick and stone walls strongly clung together with clay. The castle's two main dark-brown walnut doors facing down and unleash two spiral country roads deep into a valley at the castle's feet. There are two relatively small doors opening to the mountains at the back, leading to a few villages near by, where the some of the Bradost caln live whose leader is Khanui Lap Zereen..(Khanui Golden Palm)
The thick dark green wood-land is occasionally hiding the two spiral roads. The castle's five main towers are guarded round the clock.. The surrounding areas are mostly mountainous, between them narrow stretches of arable plains used for field crops and live-stock scattered on the surrounding plains' rich pastures., but in summer most of the herds go up to graze on the slopes of the mountains. The castle river gushes down from the North East, close to the North end of the castle, where it is partly diverted into the castle to provide vital needs of the castle-town with clean and sparkling water. The water supply is being arranged through the two main ditches, where streams of water branched out to Khanu's household and the Diwan*, the mosque, the houses, the local manufacturers, the pond of the market and to its final destination the mill, before its reconciliation with the main stream in the valley.

The water supply is keeping the castle fresh and green even in summer, when rain stops for nearly six months. Many mulberry trees, weeping willows, oak, chinnar and walnut trees with variety of bushes, roses and shrubs are watered or looked after by the castle people. Khanu's Diwan and the mosque are the main land mark of the castle, especially his Diwan's two ornamented domes with yellow, navy, and turquoise tiles and separated with a wooden balcony and columns, overlooking the castle town's market square.

In early spring the high slopes of the surrounding mountains are still covered with snow that doesn't vanish to melt well into summer. It is an early spring morning,, the people are beginning to come out from their winter shelters to dig and plough their allotments around their houses and in their orchards to sow vegetable seeds, that they call `spring sowing.' Winter's image is not too far away yet, as a dark bank of cloud above the northern mountains lingers, starts spreading unwittingly, but winter is dismissed with rambling, roaring and lightening thunders.; followed by torrential rain that suppresses the dusty crust of the soil.
The rain soon clears the air spreading and leaving a moist on the soil, and soon gives way to the piercing sun shine into the newly ploughed soil that scents the spring air, this kind of rain is called "gorga zie" in the following weeks, the excessive spring rain and melting snow overflows and bursts the mountain slopes and ravines into water springs , therefore the castle's river surges down and cascades and rumbles over piles of rocks, spraying milky froth and sometimes bringing down rocks with a deafening roar. This is so frightening that makes approaching it's banks quite risky. This contradmond, sparkling look and quiet summer mood, passing beneath the solemn gratitude of the castle with dazzling shauls of colourful fish.

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