KURDISTAN REGION - IRAQ - Herêmî Kurdistan

The Kurdistan Region (KRI; Kurdish: هەرێمی كوردستان ,Herêma Kurdistanê‎, Arabic: اقليم كوردستان‎) is an autonomous region in the northern parts of Iraq comprising the four Kurdish-majority populated governorates of Dohuk, Erbil, Halabja and Sulaymaniyah and bordering Iran, Syria and Turkey. The Kurdistan Region encompasses most of Iraqi Kurdistan but excludes Kurdish areas which Iraq has been preventing the Kurds from governing since Kurdish autonomy was realized in 1992 with the first Kurdish elections in the aftermath of the Gulf War. 

The Kurdistan Region Parliament is situated in Erbil, which is the largest Kurdish city in Iraq, but the Kurdish constitution declares the disputed city of Kirkuk to be the capital of Kurdistan. When the Iraqi Army withdrew from most parts of the disputed areas in mid-2014 because of the ISIL offensive in Northern Iraq, Kurdish Peshmerga entered the areas and held control there until October 2017. The Kurds in Iraq oscillatingly fought for either autonomy or independence throughout the 20th century and experienced Arabization and genocide at the hands of Iraq. However, the American-led no fly zone from March 1991 on over most of Iraqi Kurdistan gave the Kurds a chance to experiment with self-governance and the autonomous region was de facto established. However, Iraq only recognized the autonomy of Kurdistan after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 with a new Iraqi constitution in 2005. A non-binding independence referendum was held in September 2017 which created mixed reactions internationally.

The Kurdistan region of Iraq enjoys more stability, economic development, and political pluralism than the rest of the country. And public opinion under the Kurdistan Regional Government demands rule-of-law-based governance. But power is concentrated in the hands of the ruling parties and families, who perpetuate a nondemocratic, sultanistic system. These dynamics could foster instability in Kurdistan and its neighborhood, but could also provide a rare window of opportunity for democratization.

The Kurdistan Region is divided into four governorates: the governorates of Duhok, Erbil, Sulaymaniya and Halabja. Each of these governorates is divided into districts, for a total of 26 districts. Each district is also divided into sub-districts. Each governorate has a capital city, while districts and sub-districts have 'district centers'. Despite being landlocked, the Kurdistan Region pursues a proactive foreign policy, which includes strengthening diplomatic relations with Iran, Russia, United States and Turkey. 29 countries have a diplomatic presence in the Kurdistan Region, while the Kurdistan Region has representative offices in 14 countries.

Finally the most awaited envelope from the rarest place is arrived in perfect condition. David visited Erbil, the capital city of Kurdistan , posted the envelope as registered mail from there. It is amazing that Kurdistan started to use own Postal service with its own logo, tracking code etc. The covers posted on July 23, 2017 and I received on August 08, 2017.

Kurdistan is one of the rarest region to get stamped and postmarked envelopes. Even though it is not an international recognized sovereign nation, but has  own postal service, stamps etc. Now they use the stamps in the name as Kurdistan region - Iraq, or Iraqi Kurdistan. The mails can travel with Kurdistan stamps internationally , but for the safety , my friend took back the cover as postmarked and sent back from Iraq in another cover.