Sidekan

Sidekan (Kurdish: سیدەکان ,Sîdekan) also called Bradost, is a vast subdistrict belonging to Soran District (Soran-Rawanduz) north of Erbil in Kurdistan Region, with 250 villages. The district also contains the area where the ancient Armenian city of Mahkert (Armenian: Մահկերտ, Mahkert) was. Sidekan has a population of less than 15,000. The exact number of Bradostian people estimated is more than this census but as the original inhabitants have been deported three times during the Iraqi–Kurdish conflicts in 1961, 1978, and 1988 and a lot of them have not yet returned due to the frequent bombing by the Turkish and Iranian militaries on the Kurdistan Workers Party strongholds in Zagros Mountains, and also because of the lack of renovation projects by the local authorities.