Welcome To Iraq, Are You Tourists or Terrorists? : Photos 42 to 58

Erbil - Dohuk - Suleimaniah - Erbil

Eight o'clock in the morning, I've just stepped out of the shower. There is a massive blast outside & our rustic hotel room starts to shake. I climb onto my bed & from the small window high up on the wall I can see a huge plume of black smoke starting to fill the sky.

Just a few miles away from us a suicide truck bomb has exploded outside a government office.

Five days earlier; The first lasting impression I have of this country is of a framed photograph in our hotel of US president George W. Bush standing side by side with Iraqi Kurdistan leader Massoud Barzani.

For the past few months in the Middle East (actually everywhere else we've ever been too) we've had the same conversations - Bush bad, people good. Blair bad, people good. Suddenly we are in a place where George W. Bush is apparently a popular man.

We are in Iraqi Kurdistan - the other side of Iraq, the place that you don't see on the tv every day. Iraqi Kurdistan is an autonomous region of Iraq that is normally considered very safe.

Full Text Entry: Welcome To Iraq, Are You Tourists or Terrorists?

I live in East of Turkey and im Turkish and there aren't any kurdish in my motherland. This mas is wrong and imaginary. Kurdish pepole can see your government only in dream..... :

Thank-you for such a rare and precious opportunity to learn about this beautiful area. Seems like a great place to visit, once the Iraqi situation is stabilized.

this is the exact trip that i set out on a few years ago but i had a very different experience and ended up in jail in Arbil. It is so noce to read about sulemania and erbil. Thank you http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iraq/Middle-of-Nowhere/blog-129924.html

I was sent the message below ten times by the same person who added the "Where are Kurds" comment; "Kurds are wild and terrorist, and their map is wrong, i live in east part of turkey and im turkish and my friends are turkish, No kurdish live in my motherland, but kurds have add my city in your map..it is dream..." I'm not sure if Serdar bothered to read the whole piece, but if he did then he would know that I made a point mentioning that there are some alleged Kurdish 'terrorists' Serdar seems to be another of those people who fails to see the difference between so called terrorists & the rest of an entirely peaceful population who don't actually support them. For me a large part of travel is about opening your mind. Sadly when you travel you also come across a few who thrive on hatred. Serdar kindly provided his email if anyone wants to contact him.

It was a lovely surprise to get the postcard from you and we a re just sitting here stunned by your amazing blog. Will have to sit down and have good look.

Thank you for sharing this wonderful report and these great pictures with the world :) I appreciated it and hope to visit these places too very soon. Happy travels Luv Nicola

how did you get into iraq???? i've been searching for ways to visit. i was in the mid east last year but never made it to kurdistan. i'm from the US so i'm guessing it would be really hard to get a tourist visa there... did you use an agency? how! do you have a virtualtourist.com account as well?

Blake - getting into the Kurdish region of Iraq is surprisingly easy. You can cross from near the Turkish town of Silopi & you don't even need a visa. Many Kurdish people like George W Bush, so you may be surprised to find you are quite welcome. Crossing into Arab controlled Iraq is not so easy (or safe). Although there are plenty of taxi drivers who would gladly take you to Baghdad you are supposed to have a visa & you will most likely not live to tell the tale. Most people suggested that as westerners we would be beheaded......

KURDISTAN IS MY COUNTRY MY Heart ananizi sikim turkler Kürd irki Sagolsun

easy Austrian Airlines have twice flight aweek Vienna-Erbil, and other flights from Stockholm, Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Munchen, Dusseldorf, Copenhagen, istanbul, Beirut, Amman, Cairo, Dubai with some othr Airlines including Kurdistan Air Lines

Hi, I live in Iraqi-Kurdistan and I am glad that you are playing the part to open other people's eyes. It has some truly beautiful places. But it still has a long way to go and many of the people have very little hope for the future.

Hi Just to let you know i found your information very useful. I am planning on travelling to kurdistan in the next year. Do you know of any websites or books i could get to get further information, also do you think it is ok to fly straight to kurdistan or would you not recommend it?

I went there during the summer with my American passport. You can get your visa once you arrive in Kurdistan. Going through Turkey or flying there directly does not make a difference safety wise. Although, if you go through Turkey then you'll get to see northern Kurdistan as well, and that is what I did. God Bless.

I leaved in eastern turkey and they are all kurds but the imported milltary to supress the kurdish nation. This map is very correct and even smaller than it should be. Kurds lived in kurdistan long before turkish mongols invaded our land.

You can have all the info u need from the following site; www.krg.com , alternativlly u can visit http://www.atroshair.com/ thank you

I was born as Kurdish, am alive Kurdish and I'll die as kurdish. I'll wake-up as Kurdish again. Long live KURDISTAN

I travelled alone to Kurdistan Iraq in February this year,f from London via istanbul. I didnt give it a thought but when I showed my British passport at the airport in Istanbul to go for the connecting flight I was questioned about why I was going to Sulaimani, and told that there was awar there.I took it all in good part, but the parting shot was "Next time you want to go for a holiday, go to Darfur". On the way back, a fortnight later, flights were delayed due to terrible weather and the Turks would not honour my ticket back to the UK although I called them in advance of the return flight (which I missed due to fog).After a night spent at the airport I had to buy a new ticketto london. Afterreading the paper at the airport waiting for the fog to clear, I was questioned and searched by security at Istanbul who selected me and two Kurdish men out for a search. I didnt know the men, and the reason for the search was because we had travelled from Sulaimani. However, there were other people at the airport who had also been on the delayed plane from Sulaimani who were waiting for a connection at Istanbul but security showed no interest in them. Just thought I would share this in case its not a isolated experience and people can be aware. Kurdistan was beautiful, the people friendly and very helpful.

Thankyou for your blog here. I also visited Kurdistan and south Iraq this year and your comments and honest opinions were immensely helpful. Great photos! These days it's difficult to find unbiased information on this beautifu country.

I have had the pleasure to get to know many people in the UK based Iraqi Kurdish community. They are a wonderful people who deserve a homeland! I pray for ALL kurds in Iraq, Iran,Syria and beyond,but especially the 12million in Turkey. Those I know have a wonderful sense of humour, put great importance on the family and just can not stop dancing and singing!I urge people to find out about this forgotten people and support their struggle for true international recognition AT LAST!!! PLEASE!!!!

Hello! Amazing blog. I stumbled upon this while doing research on Kurdish music for a term paper. You've written this really well, thanks for showing this other side of Iraq. Cheers

I ma kurdish guy from kurdistan of Iraq,I want to thank you to show other nation our culture ,to show every body that we want peace and we want live freely in or homeland,,,but unfortunately turkish people dont want to accept the reality of kurd and kurdistan even they deny 20 milions kurd in kurdistan of turkey. any way every body welcome to my homeland kurdistan of iraq. Rojvan from Erbil

when I see donkys in street I see turksh in street and leder of this donkys who name is attaturk say im big donkys in earth like my people.turksh are Cancer virous in this planet.

I must say this! THERE IS NO SUCH A THING AS KURDISTAN. There never was and there will never be. The countries in which Kurds live are Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iraq. Period!

Nice to see you made it home; long...long...journey. Very nice!! I hope you enjoyed spectecular Kurdistan (North Kurdistan occupied by Turkey pop. 30 Million, South Kurdistan...where you were..no longer occupied by Iraq pop. 7.5 milion, Eastern Kurdistan occupied by Iran pop. 13 million, Western Kurdistan occupied by Syria 2 million). If you ever in South Kurdistan (KRG), Duhok area....come by Gerdun Recreation and Fitness Center for some fun (good food, swimming, suana, steam room, jacuzzi, billiard tables, foosbal, air hockey, darts....

Some websites to visit if planning a trip to South Kurdistan (KRG, Iraq): www.krg.org, www.kurdistanica.org, http://www.peyamner.com/default.aspx?l=4. The Kurds are very hospitable and welcoming to strangers and foreigners. They are extemely friendly to Americans and Westerners in general. The provinces of Duhok, Erbil and Suleimaniya are very safe and calm; it is as if it is not a part of Iraq the way it has bypassed all of the turbulence and violence. It is has its own president, prime minister, military and security forces. For Western visitors a VISA is not required. Do a lot of research before heading down there. It would be helpful to find a Kurd from the area to get more information from.

I live in East of Turkey and im Turkish and there aren't any kurdish in my motherland. This mas is wrong and imaginary. Kurdish pepole can see your government only in dream..... :

Thank-you for such a rare and precious opportunity to learn about this beautiful area. Seems like a great place to visit, once the Iraqi situation is stabilized.

this is the exact trip that i set out on a few years ago but i had a very different experience and ended up in jail in Arbil. It is so noce to read about sulemania and erbil. Thank you http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iraq/Middle-of-Nowhere/blog-129924.html

I was sent the message below ten times by the same person who added the "Where are Kurds" comment; "Kurds are wild and terrorist, and their map is wrong, i live in east part of turkey and im turkish and my friends are turkish, No kurdish live in my motherland, but kurds have add my city in your map..it is dream..." I'm not sure if Serdar bothered to read the whole piece, but if he did then he would know that I made a point mentioning that there are some alleged Kurdish 'terrorists' Serdar seems to be another of those people who fails to see the difference between so called terrorists & the rest of an entirely peaceful population who don't actually support them. For me a large part of travel is about opening your mind. Sadly when you travel you also come across a few who thrive on hatred. Serdar kindly provided his email if anyone wants to contact him.

It was a lovely surprise to get the postcard from you and we a re just sitting here stunned by your amazing blog. Will have to sit down and have good look.

Thank you for sharing this wonderful report and these great pictures with the world :) I appreciated it and hope to visit these places too very soon. Happy travels Luv Nicola

how did you get into iraq???? i've been searching for ways to visit. i was in the mid east last year but never made it to kurdistan. i'm from the US so i'm guessing it would be really hard to get a tourist visa there... did you use an agency? how! do you have a virtualtourist.com account as well?

Blake - getting into the Kurdish region of Iraq is surprisingly easy. You can cross from near the Turkish town of Silopi & you don't even need a visa. Many Kurdish people like George W Bush, so you may be surprised to find you are quite welcome. Crossing into Arab controlled Iraq is not so easy (or safe). Although there are plenty of taxi drivers who would gladly take you to Baghdad you are supposed to have a visa & you will most likely not live to tell the tale. Most people suggested that as westerners we would be beheaded......

KURDISTAN IS MY COUNTRY MY Heart ananizi sikim turkler Kürd irki Sagolsun

easy Austrian Airlines have twice flight aweek Vienna-Erbil, and other flights from Stockholm, Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Munchen, Dusseldorf, Copenhagen, istanbul, Beirut, Amman, Cairo, Dubai with some othr Airlines including Kurdistan Air Lines

Hi, I live in Iraqi-Kurdistan and I am glad that you are playing the part to open other people's eyes. It has some truly beautiful places. But it still has a long way to go and many of the people have very little hope for the future.

Hi Just to let you know i found your information very useful. I am planning on travelling to kurdistan in the next year. Do you know of any websites or books i could get to get further information, also do you think it is ok to fly straight to kurdistan or would you not recommend it?

I went there during the summer with my American passport. You can get your visa once you arrive in Kurdistan. Going through Turkey or flying there directly does not make a difference safety wise. Although, if you go through Turkey then you'll get to see northern Kurdistan as well, and that is what I did. God Bless.

I leaved in eastern turkey and they are all kurds but the imported milltary to supress the kurdish nation. This map is very correct and even smaller than it should be. Kurds lived in kurdistan long before turkish mongols invaded our land.

You can have all the info u need from the following site; www.krg.com , alternativlly u can visit http://www.atroshair.com/ thank you

I was born as Kurdish, am alive Kurdish and I'll die as kurdish. I'll wake-up as Kurdish again. Long live KURDISTAN

I travelled alone to Kurdistan Iraq in February this year,f from London via istanbul. I didnt give it a thought but when I showed my British passport at the airport in Istanbul to go for the connecting flight I was questioned about why I was going to Sulaimani, and told that there was awar there.I took it all in good part, but the parting shot was "Next time you want to go for a holiday, go to Darfur". On the way back, a fortnight later, flights were delayed due to terrible weather and the Turks would not honour my ticket back to the UK although I called them in advance of the return flight (which I missed due to fog).After a night spent at the airport I had to buy a new ticketto london. Afterreading the paper at the airport waiting for the fog to clear, I was questioned and searched by security at Istanbul who selected me and two Kurdish men out for a search. I didnt know the men, and the reason for the search was because we had travelled from Sulaimani. However, there were other people at the airport who had also been on the delayed plane from Sulaimani who were waiting for a connection at Istanbul but security showed no interest in them. Just thought I would share this in case its not a isolated experience and people can be aware. Kurdistan was beautiful, the people friendly and very helpful.

Thankyou for your blog here. I also visited Kurdistan and south Iraq this year and your comments and honest opinions were immensely helpful. Great photos! These days it's difficult to find unbiased information on this beautifu country.

I have had the pleasure to get to know many people in the UK based Iraqi Kurdish community. They are a wonderful people who deserve a homeland! I pray for ALL kurds in Iraq, Iran,Syria and beyond,but especially the 12million in Turkey. Those I know have a wonderful sense of humour, put great importance on the family and just can not stop dancing and singing!I urge people to find out about this forgotten people and support their struggle for true international recognition AT LAST!!! PLEASE!!!!

Hello! Amazing blog. I stumbled upon this while doing research on Kurdish music for a term paper. You've written this really well, thanks for showing this other side of Iraq. Cheers

I ma kurdish guy from kurdistan of Iraq,I want to thank you to show other nation our culture ,to show every body that we want peace and we want live freely in or homeland,,,but unfortunately turkish people dont want to accept the reality of kurd and kurdistan even they deny 20 milions kurd in kurdistan of turkey. any way every body welcome to my homeland kurdistan of iraq. Rojvan from Erbil

when I see donkys in street I see turksh in street and leder of this donkys who name is attaturk say im big donkys in earth like my people.turksh are Cancer virous in this planet.

I must say this! THERE IS NO SUCH A THING AS KURDISTAN. There never was and there will never be. The countries in which Kurds live are Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iraq. Period!

Nice to see you made it home; long...long...journey. Very nice!! I hope you enjoyed spectecular Kurdistan (North Kurdistan occupied by Turkey pop. 30 Million, South Kurdistan...where you were..no longer occupied by Iraq pop. 7.5 milion, Eastern Kurdistan occupied by Iran pop. 13 million, Western Kurdistan occupied by Syria 2 million). If you ever in South Kurdistan (KRG), Duhok area....come by Gerdun Recreation and Fitness Center for some fun (good food, swimming, suana, steam room, jacuzzi, billiard tables, foosbal, air hockey, darts....

Some websites to visit if planning a trip to South Kurdistan (KRG, Iraq): www.krg.org, www.kurdistanica.org, http://www.peyamner.com/default.aspx?l=4. The Kurds are very hospitable and welcoming to strangers and foreigners. They are extemely friendly to Americans and Westerners in general. The provinces of Duhok, Erbil and Suleimaniya are very safe and calm; it is as if it is not a part of Iraq the way it has bypassed all of the turbulence and violence. It is has its own president, prime minister, military and security forces. For Western visitors a VISA is not required. Do a lot of research before heading down there. It would be helpful to find a Kurd from the area to get more information from.