Authors

Karlos Zurutuza

Karlos Zurutuza

special correspondent
Frequent contributor

Karlos Zurutuza has been covering human rights and conflict along parallel 33 (from Western Sahara to Eastern Baluchistan) for the past 15 years. Other than in hidden europe, his work has been published in prominent media outlets such as Al Jazeera, IPS News Vicenews, The Middle East Eye and The Guardian, among many others. He has also published several books, his latest being Tierra Adentro (Libros del KO, 2018), which covers seven years of ground reporting in Libya.

— Articles by Karlos Zurutuza —

Magazine article

The Last Settlers: Franco's Legacy in Rural Spain

by Karlos Zurutuza
In the 1950s and 1960s, the development of new agrarian settlements became a key element of Franco's statecraft in Spain. The villages, often planted in unpromising terrain, symbolised Franquista power and ambition. Karlos Zurutuza and Andoni Lubaki, respectively a writer and photographer based in the Basque region, set out to discover the villages populated by Spain's last settlers.
Magazine article

The Legacy of the San Juan

by Karlos Zurutuza
On the rocky shores of Labrador (in eastern Canada) is a remote settlement which features strongly in the Basque imagination. Karlos Zurutuza explains how the whalers of Euskal Herria (the Basque Country) once dominated the whale oil trade around Newfoundland and Labrador. Now a fine replica and a great Basque whaling vessel is nearing completion at Pasaia.
Magazine article

The Mingrelian Question

by Karlos Zurutuza
The green and white stripes of the Abkhaz flag give a striking splash of colour. But the schoolteacher speaks of the Mingrelian language and culture. Karlos Zurutuza goes in search of a minority group in the Republic of Abkhazia, a small territory on the north shore of the Black Sea which has for a quarter of a century asserted its status as an independent state.
Magazine article

Erronkari's claim to fame

by Karlos Zurutuza

The memory of Julián Gayarre, the accomplished nineteenth-century tenor, is perpetuated in his home village in the Pyrenees by a larynx preserved in formaldehyde. Karlos Zurutuza, who is a regular contributor to hidden europe, took the bus to Erronkari to unpick the tale of a local lad whose voice was revered in Europe's great opera houses.

Magazine article

Flanders: good evening Denderleeuw

by Karlos Zurutuza

The homeland of the Kurdish people is bisected by many international frontiers. But Kurds in Syria, Iraq, Turkey and beyond are united by their affection for a TV station that broadcasts news and entertainment to the Kurdish people. Karlos Zurutuza, a regular contributor to hidden europe, visits the small town in Flanders (Belgium) where Roj TV is based.

Magazine article

Between two rivers: Abkhazia

by Karlos Zurutuza

Regular hidden europe correspondent Karlos Zurutuza ventures to parts of Europe that most of us would judge to be off-limits. Here he reports from Abkhazia, a not-quite-independent republic on the Black Sea.

Magazine article

Castles in the air: Svaneti

by Karlos Zurutuza

The breathtaking mountains of the High Caucasus tower over the upper Inguri valley, which is home to a rich but endangered culture. Karlos Zurutuza, a regular contributor to hidden europe, visits the Svaneti region of Georgia.

Magazine article

Hidden Yerevan

by Karlos Zurutuza

Karlos Zurutuza, a regular contributor to hidden europe, tracks down an intriguing church in the heart of Yerevan, capital of Armenia.

Magazine article

A Caucasian knot: South Ossetia

by Karlos Zurutuza

In Tamarasheni, the clocks are set to Georgian time. Just down the road, the community of Tskhinval prefers Moscow time. All a matter of borders. But in South Ossetia every frontier is contested. Karlos Zurutuza reports from the quasi-state of South Ossetia.

Magazine article

Crossing the Dniester

by Karlos Zurutuza

It may be small, but Transdniestr has all the trappings of statehood. Car licence plates, postage stamps, banknotes. Karlos Zurutuza reports on life in the would-be state that is unrecognised by the wider international community.

Magazine article

A Basque village: Urzainki connections

by Karlos Zurutuza

The tiny village of Urzainki in the Basque Pyrenees is a mere fleck on the map. But it is a place with connections. Can it really be true that this one village has a link with an erstwhile Pope, an American President, the Bronte family and a South American political leader?

Magazine article

The princess of Lake Van

by Karlos Zurutuza

The island in Lake Van, shown on modern maps with the name Akdamar, has a more historic name: Akhtamar. The island is rich with Armenian associations, but Turkey has been keen to distance the island from its cultural history. That change of name is part of a wider tale. Karlos Zurutuza reports from eastern Turkey.