SULAIMANIYA, Iraq (Reuters) – It’s midnight and the restaurant on the top floor of the Sulaimaniya Palace hotel, with its panoramic views, is buzzing.

Seven stories below, the streets of the Kurdish city are still busy and couples walk in the light of the full moon.

This is Iraq. But it’s a world away from the claustrophobic concrete blast walls and bloodshed of Baghdad far to the south.

Kurds boast that rents in Sulaimaniya now outstrip London. Whether it’s true is hardly relevant — the boast itself symbolizes the vibrancy and optimism that separate most of Kurdistan from the rest of strife-torn Iraq.
reuters.com

Not for long.

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