Holly Fletcher

USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

For two hours each Sunday in April Shirzad Tayyar is leading a group of curious Nashvillians through a guided tour of a section of Nolensville Pike so people can get a glimpse into city's bustling Kurdish community.

Nashville is home to the nation's largest Kurdish community, and Tayyar, 25, whose family came here in the early 1990s, wants to closer link the two groups.For two hours each Sunday in April, Shirzad Tayyar is leading a group of curious Nashvillians through a guided tour of a section of Nolensville Pike to give people a glimpse into the city's bustling Kurdish community.

The idea for a tour took root when a friend asked Tayyar to take him to the mosque and the neighboring stores, and later mentioned Tayyar should set up a series of tours. At the time, Tayyar didn't think much about it.

But then he mentioned it on Facebook and people said they'd come.

"It just blossomed," he said.

Tayyar opted for April because the weather likely would be nice.

Before he turned into tour guide, Tayyar seamlessly floated between Kurdish and English — greeting shoppers he knew and members of the tour.

"If you see me go in and out of Kurdish, I know somebody," he told the group.

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About 50 people attended the first two Sundays, and there were 71 people at Sunday's Walk Bike Nashville-partnered tour. Tayyar is planning for one more tour on April 24 and then may look at another month in the fall, depending on his work schedule. He's doing the tours for free.

Walk Bike Nashville partnered with Tayyar because the tour fit into the Livable Streets Project, which is a series of events designed to get people out of their cars and onto the sidewalks of different neighborhoods.

"You might have driven by this 100 times but never knew it was here," said Daniel McDonell, program coordinator of Walk Bike Nashville. "It doesn't require a lot. You just have to put your tennis shoes on."

Tayyar and McDonell were surprised by the turnout. They'd allotted 50 tickets and easily hit the registration cap.

Tayyar talks about the history of Kurds and Kurdistan, the culture — including the dowry system for marriage — and how there are Kurds of all religions, as well as how Kurds fit into the fight against ISIS. His family, he told Sunday's crowd, came to Nashville after the first Gulf War because his father knew someone here.

After visiting the mosque, two markets offer a glimpse, and taste, of their specialties: bread and shawarma. Then the group goes to Baklava Cafe for dessert and hookah — Tayyar's favorite part to share.

Tammy and Jared Scheel brought their daughter and told some friends because they wanted to hear more about the community behind the stores they've shopped at before.

The tours are a way to bridge one culture with another.

"We live here. We want to be a part of it," Tayyar said.

People on the tour, just as his friend, are very interested in the mosque and the worship that takes place. Tayyar said the feedback from the mosque and the businesses has been great — the imam has thanked him for bringing the groups.

Tayyar thinks that people would stop in to check it out, but don't want to be a bother.

"People tend to think about not offending anybody," he said, laughing that he tells the tours not to worry if they wear a cross on their jewelry or have it as a tattoo. "It's the house of god so everyone is welcome."

Reach Holly Fletcher at 615-259-8287 or on Twitter @hollyfletcher.

If you go

Shirzaad Tayyar will be hosting one more Tour of Little Kurdistan, 1-3 p.m. April 24. The tour is free. Start: Salahadeen Center, 364 Elysian Fields Court, Nashville, TN 37211

Walk Bike Nashville

For more events in the Livable Streets Project, go to http://www.walkbikenashville.org/livablestreets.