Most of these houses maintained until 1968 when refugee settlements were built.
A refugee settlement designed for 90,000 people soon held more than 100,000, then 200,000, then 300,000.
The first refugee settlement here was constructed 20 years ago to hold around 90,000 people.
A tomb was discovered in 1979-during the construction of a refugee settlement.
The private agency provides assistance to thousands of Palestinians at five refugee settlements in the area.
And the numbers are fast expanding at the main refugee settlement in Zakho.
It marked a willingness by both sides to begin, under international auspices, a refugee settlement.
News comes all the time about other refugee settlements where the situation is far worse.
With more than 380,000 people, it is the world's largest refugee settlement.
And it is but one of the many forms of refugee settlements today.