Mardin, Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan

Saturday 25th Septmber


Yesterday evening, we went a bit crazy and went out for a, relatively, expensive dinner. We went to Cercis Murat Konagi, as recommended by Lonely Planet, because, apparently the kitchen is run by women, which is unusual since in this part of the world, women don't work, they stay at home. Well, we didnt see any women and the waiters were hovering around a bit much as we ate. But the Syrian style spicy meatballs in bread and yoghurt, with chopped tomato and cucumber salad were fantastic. We went to a bar for a drink, but apart from two guys playing Turkish music and a couple of ladies that were surely prostitutes, nobody was there so we went back to the hotel.


So today we crossed the border from Southeastern Turkey into Irqai Kurdistan. Both Andrew and I had read the Lonely Planet chapter on Iraqi Kurdistan when we were still on the truck with Africa Trails and we were intrigued that there is another side to Iraq that is safe and welcoming but off the usual tourist path. We did our research from the Lonely Planet Middle East book, the Lonely Planet online forum, and even the UK Govt travel advisory website, which is usually overcautious, said it is safe to travel here, different from the rest of Iraq which is known as Arabic Iraq. So, coming here was the main point of travelling through Turkey, to get here. And it is Andrew's birthday, so why not spend it in two countries!

The plan went exactly as the Lonely Planet described, but all the same it was an excellent adventure.

We left Mardin at 9am on a full, normal, aircon bus. I slept a bit along the way but at midday we arrived at Silopi bus station, but as the taxi drivers informed us, this was not where you get to Iraqi Kurdistan from. So we got a 10TL white-knuckle ride taxi into Silopi proper. As soon as the taxi pulled up in town, a young guy surrounded by a few taxi drivers said he could take us across the border. This was what we expected and were hoping for.

He wrote down our passport details, we gave him $20 each and we put our bags in the trunk and sat in the taxi and waited for a driver. Meanwhile a few kids kept opening our doors and tapping our arms and asking for money, but i don't think they were really starving, just being cheeky.

The driver came back and put an old guy in the back with me and Andrew. He had something wrong with his left leg which meant he couldn't bend it so his left leg was stuck inbetween the two front seats, in front of me as i was in the middle in the back. He was a friendly chap and spoke some English. A Turkish/Kurdish girl, called Aysel, about 25, sat in the front and off we went to the Turkish border.

We had to give the driver 15TL to buy our Turkish exit stamp, which we hadn't known about but i think was genuine, and we had to get out and show ourselves to the Turkish border guys as we left. Our taxi was allowed to bypass the long line of trucks.

Still in the same taxi, we crossed to the Ibrahim Halil Irqai Kurdistan border post and went into what looked like an airport arrivals lounge to get our passports checked and stamped . Again, we seemed to get ahead of the line, and the driver and the Aysel pointed us in the right direction. The officials beckoned Andrew and I into a side office and asked us why we were here and which places we are visiting and we gave simple honest answers and it was fine. A few minutes later we got a Republic of Iraqi Kurdistan ten day visa. The five of us got back into the taxi. As we crossed the border, Aysel looked round, smiled and said "welcome to Kurdistan." We had made it!

The taxi dropped us off near some other taxis and the old guy disappeared. Andrew, Aysel and I then got into another $10 each taxi to Dohuk. The taxis were big powerful Toyotas and our driver was driving too fast, and he was the only one with a functioning seat belt. But we covered the 50kms to Dohuk in about 25 minutes. The scenery was a bit bleak, but when we arrived in Dohuk it was a bustling town. Andrew and I got out at the Parmalan Hotel and Aysel carried on to Uni where she is studying English.

We checked in and went off to buy some Iraqi dinar. Got a favourable exchange rate. As we had read, Dohuk, and Kurdistan generally, is fairly westernised; the American influence. Americans are quite revered here after George Bush helped them alot after the first Gulf War. The shops are quite modern, lots of tech shops as well as modern bazaar. Alot more women around than where we were the last few days; some have their hair covered but most are dressed in western clothes. We got a great shwarma, soup, salad and tea for $1.50. A bit windy and hazy, felt like a sandstorm was coming.

Chilled out in our small hotel room for an hour or two watching CNN etc. Walked along the main street and got kebab and salad, again. Went for a walk to see what Kurds get up to in the evening, again, mainly only guys around. Eventually found a shop selling beer (Heiniken!) so got a couple as it was Andrew's birthday. On the way back, in a park just under a bridge we found about 150 guys sitting around small tables playing dominoes and cards and tile rummy, smoking. So this is what they get up to on a Saturday night, rather than drinking ten pints and falling over like westerns do!

We put the beer in the hotel fridge for later and went across the road to the Sports Bar, for a Sheesha since there was no bar to drink in. By chance Iraq were playing Yemen at soccer so we watched it with the locals while smoking an Apple sheesha. And Iraq scored and won so the six or seven locals were cheering. Normally we would have been smoking the sheesha with 5 or 6 other people when we were on the truck, so after just Andrew and I got stuck into it, I certainly felt a bit wobbly and it was very hot in there. So after the game we left and went and chilled out in the room and drank the beer. A successful night out.

Sunday 26th Septmeber

We left the hotel at 9am and straight into a taxi to the 'garage' which is where you go to get a shared taxi from one town to another. At the garage we immediately found a cab with two other guys to bring us to Sulav (seelav). Again the driver went as quickly as he could so it didnt take long to cover the 60kms. Scenery was good, up and down the valley. Different from Southeastern Turkey. Sulav is a very small town on the side of the valley. At the hotel, the guy gave us a room with no real back wall, its just the cliff, with a tribrutary of the stream running alongside, inside the room, which was novel and made the room cool. But there were also a few big spiders in there and lots of flies so moved rooms.

After a mid-morning kebab, we looked for a taxi to take us the 5kms uphill to the town of Amedi, which is on a rock overlooking the valley. We found a driver snoring on his back so left him alone. Then Andrew got talking to a local who lives in Amedi and he offered us a lift up there. The views of the valley were good and it was bigger and more developed than we expected, big cars and modern dress, but still Kurdish. We had a look round and said hello to people then walked back down to Sulav, which took about an hour.

After a break we walked up to the waterfall, behind our hotel. The stream is quite narrow and the cafes have plastic chairs and tables in the stream so you can eat while bathing your feet. There were quite a few families around as Sunday is picnic day. The waterfall wasnt very impressive but as we reached the top there was a group of about 12 guys sitting on a big mat; one of them had just finished praying. Another guy gestured for us to sit with them, which I wasnt sure about if its was prayer time.

But they were very welcoming. Turned out they were police and firemen from another town, having an afternoon out together. One was Christian, the others Muslim. They didnt speak much English but we exchanged names and a few jokes. They then got out their lunch, which was beans in a sauce and something like pilau rice. They didnt ask us if we wanted any, they just laid it out in front of us, to share, because, to them, that is the right thing to do. I wasnt really hungry as we had had the kebab earlier but of course it would have been rude to say no. Anyway, it tasted good so got into it. We all sat in a big circle on the mat and ate together. And had Earl Grey tea too. And one of the guys made Andrew dance close to him to Shakira (it was on the guy's mobile phone). They played dominoes and cards but Andrew and I were happy to watch. After a few more photos Andrew and I walked back down to the town, and our hotel.

While I was shaving, Nasir, who now lives in Stoke-on-Trent, England but is was born and bred here, came and introduced himself. When i told him we are going to Erbil tomorrow, he near-on insisted on driving us there, even though he wasn't going that way. That has been one of the highlights so far; the Kurdish hospitality.


Monday 27th September

So, as arranged, Nasir picked us up from the hotel and we headed for Erbil, or Hawler in Kurdish, which caused a bit of confusion between us for a while. Nasir is still learning English. We drove for about 3 hours on good roads, through the countryside, stopping for water along the way, with Nasir's choice of Shakira on the CD player.

Erbil is a big city, a million people, so it took us quite a while to find the hotel, with Nasir asking for directions. We tried to buy Nasir lunch to say thank you for driving us here, but he kind of pushed passed me and insisted on paying for us. We might catch up with Nasir again in Dohuk.

Andrew and i walked through the bazaar to the Citadel which sits on a 30 metre-high mound. It was lived in until a few years ago but became a bit overcrowded so they paid people to leave cos it was getting out of control. But it is said to be one of the most continuously inhabited places in the world so they let one family stay, to maintain the record. So now it is a ghost town, but UNESCO are renovating some of the houses with the hope of attracting tourists in the future; we had a chat with one of the civil engineers working there. Had a look at the textiles museum, lots of carpets on the wall, from different times and places. Next we headed out to the Martyr Sami Abdul Rahman Park. Got a bit lost on the way, blame the signposts, but when we did find it was green and pleasant and quiet. Its made up of a number of small gardens, which probably get busy at the weekend, and a couple of man-made lakes with paddle boats. On the way out we paused at the memorial to the 98 people killed in a twin suicide attack in the city in 2004; the park is named after the Deputy Prime Minsiter who was also killed.

We walked back into the city and eventually found a small, dusty internet cafe above the bazaar. Only one PC worked so while Andrew used it, i used the owner's PC. After dinner of kebab, salad, rice and beans I had a quick walk around by myself. There were lots of people in the nearby park which had fountains and coloured light bulbs. A nice atmosphere.