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Kurdish Culture in comparison with Lebanese Culture

The Kurdish culture and the Lebanese culture are quite similar in many aspects including religion, hospitality, code of conduct, food and family. There are also vast differences like language, geography and music. Here I'll compare each aspect separately.


Food
Food is an important aspect because it defines a big part of culture. A society with their own types of food have a history and thus a strong and content culture. Both Kurdish people and Lebanese people are very proud of their special kinds of foods and they are both quite tasty. Traditional Kurdish food includes yaprakh, niskene, tapsi, shifta and makluba. Traditional lebanese food includes tabbouleh, fattoush, hummus, kebbeh and wine. 

Kurdish Cuisine
Lebanese Cuisine


Religion
Kurds are predominantly Sunni Muslim, however there are many other groups of religions including Yezdanism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Judaism, so there is a lot of diversity. As I understand, Lebanon has a lot of diversity too, with three dominant religions which are Christianity, Sunni Islam, and Shia Islam.

Church in Erbil
Mosque in Beirut

Family and Hospitality

Family and hospitality are two very recurring themes in the lives of both the Kurdish people and the Lebanese people. Kurds put family ahead of everything else, and as I understand, so do Lebanese people. Families are the building blocks of both societies and family bonds are closely held between members of the societies.


Geography and Government

Kurdistan is separated into four parts. I'm from the Iraqi part which has an autonomous government. The other parts are distributed among Turkey, Iran and Syria. Kurdistan is landlocked and has no areas that border the sea. Neighbors include Iraq, Syria, Iran and Turkey. Lebanon is not landlocked and one side of it borders the Mediterranean sea. Lebanon is neighbored by Israel and Syria. Both Iraqi Kurdistan and Lebanon have a parliamentary democracy for a government, however both of them are plagued by corruption and bad politics.

Map of Kurdistan

Map of Lebanon

Music

Both cultures have distinctions when it comes to music. Traditional Kurdish music is composed for the traditional Kurdish form of dancing which is called Halparke. Traditional Lebanese music is composed for the traditional Lebanese form of dancing called Debke.


Kurdish Halparke
Lebanese Debke









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