"Durchs wilde Kurdistan" by Karl May is an adventure novel written in the late 19th century. Set among Kurdish tribes and the Yazidi community, it follows a European narrator known as the Emir and his loyal companion Hadschi Halef Omar as they navigate religious rites, tribal politics, and looming conflict with Ottoman forces. The story blends travel, intrigue, and tactically clever confrontations in a rugged, mountainous setting. The opening of the novel
places the protagonists in the sacred valley of Sheikh Adi during a great Yazidi festival, vividly describing torchlit rites, music, and a symbolic rooster ceremony while tensions rise over an impending Ottoman assault. The Emir scouts mysterious lights, discovers an Ottoman mountain-artillery detachment, and—using deception and swift riders—captures the gunners and their four pieces without bloodshed, then has Yazidi cannoneers don Turkish uniforms to bait the enemy. As Ottoman troops under Miralai Omar Amed enter the valley, they are hit by their own reclaimed guns; the Emir briefly confronts the furious commander, brandishing imperial travel permits to avoid arrest, and narrowly dodges a shot. Parallel threads include Ali Bey’s disciplined preparations, the hidden evacuation to Idiz, Pir Kamek’s ominous talk of sacrifice, and the comic bravado of Buluk Emini Ifra, ending with the battle about to intensify. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
