UKC

Notwithstanding the horrorific events in Iraq I am fascinated by the appearance of some of the Yazidi people. A few of them seem to have fair, almost Scandinavian, complexions with fair hair and blue eyes - not what one would normally associate with countries like Iraq.

Does anyone know anything about their ethnicity?

In reply to FesteringSore:

I am struck as to what good looking people they are. I think they are what used to be known as "Aryan" and rather than Arab

In reply to Trangia:

Terrible stereotyping :-p

In reply to FesteringSore:

Fascinating people indeed. Everything you want to know is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yazidi

In reply to FesteringSore:
Blue eyes spread due to a genetic mutation in single common ancestor from near the Black Sea.

Blue eyes would be in the middle east but didn't take off like they did in northern europe.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/how-one-ancestor-helped-turn-our-...

In reply to FesteringSore:
Think they are basically Kurdish, therefore originally from Persia. There are plenty of blued eyed blonde Persians, they are not all sworthy Arab looking. Indeed Circassians, another turkic diaspora living within Iran, are often blue eyed and blonde people are famed for the fairness of their women.

The syncretic nature of the religion pretty much point to there was lots of miscegenation going on in their history, despite them now being endogamous.

D

In reply to Dauphin:

Lol if you want to offend an Iranian (Persian) tell him, or worse, her, that they look like an Arab!

In reply to Dauphin:

Wow, i would have nominated you for post of the year for getting syncretic, miscegenation and endogamous into one post....but then you went and spelled swarthy wrong

In reply to Trangia:

I thought the same thing....

In reply to Kimono:

Aplogies.




D

In reply to FesteringSore:

Alexander the Great and his mates....

In reply to Postmanpat:

Indeed. Plenty of it. All over the shop.

D

In reply to Postmanpat:


When I think about what Alexander the Great looked like, I see Colin Farrell with a blonde rinse, I don't think I can forgive Oliver Stone for that.