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....
No such a thing as kurdistan 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!
turksh nation are Animal nation in earth 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.
thank you 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
Rafik Hariri Always good to get constructive feedback. Rafik Hariri was the Prime Minister of Lebanon, sorry to all those I offended by getting my fact so terribly wrong.
It is amazing to read your blog again Hi guys
Miss you since you left NZ. It is still amazing to read your blog, especially the pics, they really represent the locals, I love them. while reading your story of Cuba, it really changed my view about what cuba is like. It is more indeep and true than just a vacation desitination with white sand and romance. Will meet you guys again on the blog.xoxo
Axis of evil So you've now been to all the axis of evil countires then? Are you sure you don't work for the CIA? I notice you've never been anywhere is europe! Good to see you writing again. I really enjoyed reading that.
Cuba The reality for the average Cuban is a very hard life. Even doctors. which are sent all over the world (?) in Cuba find that bar tending allows them to provide better for their families. I call that a failure of the system and refuse to go back to support this regime as the average Cuban, does not benefit from tourist dollars.
You are so lucky! 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
Kurdistan. 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!!!!
Kurdistan! 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.
In reply to doctor38 It's always intersting to provoke a reaction; I'm not sure if it's assumed that I'm American or that I'm only aware of the American media. Neither are true. I would like to think that simply by going to the Middle East, against the advice of many, I've proved that I am perhaps a little more open minded about the politics of the region than some. Although I've tried not to get too political I would go as far as to suggest that I've shown more signs of support for Palestine than for Israel. My comments about the 'self absorbed' in Beirut was quite specifically about a group of very young people we found ourselves spending time with. I know that their opinions aren't a reflection of the whole population; those teenagers, who have just recently known war, have every reason to want to be absorbed in their own world & concentrate on enjoying themselves...
I found some of what you said is really interesting like "It's hard to have an open minded discussion with anyone here, it would certainly be interesting to hear the Israeli side of the story" and "they are too absorbed in their own worlds where they are always the centre of attention"
I am sure people can refer to you with the same accusation like you are too absorbed into you own world. It would like to point out to you that the Arab and Palestinian view are seldom presented in American Media. only the isreali side have is heard often and load. The American Media is too biased and unbalanced
Having an open mind is a 2 way street and I ask of you also to have an open mind. Look at the other side of the story and see these 2 web sites one is an American and the 2nd is an Isreali
http://www.ifamericansknew.org/
http://www.btselem.org/English/
Thanks and good luck
Superb blog... re. miss pamela's comments: 'Taking out all the people of Iran would make it a lovely place'. Are you sure? That's one of the reasons why Iran is so great because of all the wonderfully friendly, helpful people. Agreed, those who run the country are ruining things, but not all of those they control agree with their philosophy. The Iranian people don't want war and certainly aren't all racists. You've been watching too much western news, me thinks. Do some proper research, put a hejab on and go see for yourself what Iran is really all about. Maybe then you will lose your racist hatred.
Wonderful blog...... Thank you for sharing your travels. Your blog is insightful and interesting and your photos are simply gorgeous. Iran is a country I would love to visit one day. How long did you spend there in total? Was it easy to travel around?
Via Istanbul 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.
travel to kurdistan 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
Kurdistan 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.
Kia Ora & welcome to our blog;
It may look like we've given up on the travels, but there will be more.... one day.
Left the UK in the mid 1990's with plans for a year or so of exploring. Finally made it home again eleven years later, only to set off again soon after. Got lost along the way with a couple of years travelling in Asia, a year living, working & travelling to all corners of Australia & the rest travelling & later living & getting married in New Zealand.
Highlights in no particular order include; Syria (x2) , Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Nicaragua, China (x2), Burma (x3), Viet... full info
Ibo
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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....