Erbil is the largest city in Iraqi Kurdistan. Moreover, it is one of the most ancient cities on earth, according to archaeologists - it has existed continuously since the 4th millennium BC. Erbil has been part of Iraq since 1921, and on March 11, 1974 it was declared the capital of the Kurdish autonomy in Iraq.
The city resembles a living, yellow and actively under construction anthill. Chaotic traffic of cars, people rushing about business... in a word, a peaceful, calm life.
Wedding: 
Brisk trade in everything, everything, everything: 
Just in case, there is a sign at the entrance to the park: 
You can buy funny rugs. 
Scarves for the belt: 
Or this cheese: 
Someone is looking for a job (this is a plumber, by the way): 
There are no banks in Kurdistan, you cannot pay by card. However, there are no currency exchangers, except for these: 
They accept euros and dollars and, what is especially pleasing, they do not deceive. Money for every taste, practically)). Here you can also buy a local SIM card and a top-up card. A kind seller will install it in your mobile phone. 
In the center of the city, on a hill 30 meters high, there is a citadel. The Erbil Citadel was built approximately 5-6 thousand years ago and is considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. 
The stork’s nest is inviolable even for builders restoring walls: 
According to some sources, the citadel consists of three quarters: Tophana, Saray and Taki and includes about 605 houses. What we saw after walking inside for 20-30 minutes did not inspire optimism, however, now the Citadel is being restored, we’ll see what happens in a few years 
Of course, the flag is strengthened here too: 
I read somewhere that now only 1 family lives in the citadel - it was left there on purpose so that this place would continue to be permanently inhabited. Otherwise, there is a lot of garbage stored in the citadel and the authorities are trying to restore something...
Already on the way out of the city, we stopped to buy a watermelon, and the seller did not miss the opportunity to sing to us on the occasion of such a pleasant meeting. 
At the exit from Erbil, in the mountains there are tanks as a monument to the military operations that took place here, or rather, this is already a kind of shell of the tanks - what is left of them. 
Favorite place for locals to take photos 
Part one - Guide
I have never been going anywhere for as long as I did to Iraq. Some years. There was always something obstructing the trip. Not the fear of being killed or kidnapped. Exclusively technical circumstances, or more precisely, the dilemma “Is Iraq worth the money spent on it?” Time after time I asked myself the question, what exceptional things will I see in this war-torn country? Having invested the equivalent of a trip to Southeast Asia on the trip, I really didn't want to be disappointed. Go for extreme sports? One way or another, the time has come, and my foot has set foot on Iraqi soil. I’ll tell you about my impressions further.
Iraqi Kurdistan and dispelling the myths around it
First of all, I would like to emphasize that I visited only the northern third of Iraq, better known as Iraqi Kurdistan. There is an absolutely stable and calm environment there. The same cannot be said about the Arab part of Iraq. Moving from the Turkish border to the south, he visited the cities of Duhok, Erbil, Mosul and Sulaymaniyah. Plus several interesting places near the mentioned cities. During my trip, the reports of such tourists who visited Kurdistan as zyalt, alware and ivanivanch provided significant assistance. In addition, I studied a considerable number of English-language reports, such as the Joe Trippin blog, Backpacking Iraqi Kurdistan, plus various articles on a variety of resources. Plus, of course, the Iraq section in the Lonely Planet guide.
Myth No. 1: To visit Arab Iraq you need a guide who will save you from al-Qaeda
May one of the mentioned authors forgive me, but we who were there are far from heroes. I was impressed by Zyalt’s report, where he, for 600(!) dollars, agreed with a guide to take him to the “super-dangerous” city of Kirkuk. Having made a couple of circles there, the travelers returned back to Kurdish territory. In fact, as it turned out, there is no technical problem visiting Iraqi cities. Come to the bus station in Erbil and ask for a minibus to Kirkuk. Or Mosul. Or Baghdad. You wait for other passengers to arrive, and for $20 you can easily get there in an hour and a half. Along the way there will be a powerful military post when leaving Iraqi Kurdistan. In 3 out of 4 cases you will not even be asked for documents, and in 1 out of 2 cases your car will not even be stopped. This is exactly how I completely calmly traveled to Mosul from Erbil, which I will tell you about separately. And I would save $600 for another trip. Of course, the guys were severely deceived, first telling them their passions, and then offering to pay for the “extreme”.
Of course, before traveling, it is absolutely necessary to study news portals and see what is happening. But taking things to the extreme and paying crazy money to scoundrels for a simple trip to Kirkuk and Mosul is definitely a no-no. I'll say more. The more locals you let into your travel plans for Arab Iraq, the more likely you are to run into problems. No “guide” will protect you from anything. In the best case, he will run away in a moment of danger, in the worst case, he himself will hand you over to the terrorists for a monetary reward. From this the next point arises -
Myth #2: Everyone in Iraq is a terrorist and you will undoubtedly be killed
In Iraq there are both terrorists and simply criminal groups for whom you are an opportunity to receive a ransom. In my subjective opinion, only in one case out of ten will your troubles be related to terrorism. And 9 out of 10 - with banal crime. For example, taking away your expensive camera along with your wristwatch. The Iraqi police are unable to cope with rampant street crime, as all efforts are devoted to suppressing the terrorist threat. Let me emphasize once again that we are talking about the Arab part of Iraq, and in no way concerns Iraqi Kurdistan, where everything is calm.
In any case, Iraq is not a place for self-presentation to the general public. There are almost no tourists there, and in the Arab part there are none at all. By appearing there in extravagant clothes and with an unusual hairstyle, you initially put yourself at risk. Of course, someone will smile, someone will shake hands in a friendly manner, but someone, seeing you from the other end of the Erbil bazaar, will think that he can fuck with you. The more you stand out from the crowd, the more potential troubles you will find in this country. I tried not to stand out, I don’t know how well it turned out. This is how I was photographed during the trip:
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Do you like photographing unusual things and the military? In Iraq, outside cities, move the device away and do not shine on it. In a country mired in terrorist attacks and streets drenched in blood, an idle tourist photographing military personnel at checkpoints is nonsense. The first, second tourist with the device causes surprise and interest, the third - irritation, the fourth - anger. Remember that in your cell, from the military point of view, lies a threat. You will take pictures of where the tank is located and how the shelters for the soldiers are arranged, and tomorrow a mortar shell will fly there? The military can be forgiven for some paranoia, but once they get seriously angry, we're in trouble. As an American officer in Mosul advised me, “Don’t behave suspiciously, otherwise you’re gonna run into a trouble.”
By the way, in the reports of tourists it is written that every 10-20 km there are military posts where you are constantly checked. I responsibly declare that, having traveled through most of Iraqi Kurdistan, I took out my passport only once. When moving from the Kurdish part to the Arab part, heading to Mosul. Nobody asked me for documents anywhere else. However, I did not stand out among my neighbors in the taxi, wearing a banal Chinese cap and being dressed like the locals - wrinkled trousers and a shirt.
Myth No. 3: The Kurds are a wonderful and hospitable people, and their region is beautiful
Remember the bearded saying “There are no bad nations, but there are bad people”? It's the same here. I will dispel the illusions spread by previous authors - the Kurds are absolutely ordinary people. Simply due to the small number of tourists, they are still surprised at you and me. And they smile. And sometimes they invite you for a cup of tea. You will find the same thing in the mountain villages of Georgia, Armenia, and Tajikistan. In any country where tourism has not yet ruined the local people, you will be welcome. By the way, Iraqi Kurds have already begun to get used to people with cameras, and in Erbil, annoying children accosted me twice: “Mani, mani!” In addition, contrary to what was said in previous reports, I did not meet with any particular hospitality or joy upon my arrival. People live ordinary lives. During 6 days in Iraq, I was never invited to visit, I only talked with locals twice (in a taxi) and they tried to cheat me twice, first at the exchange office, and then in the store. In other words, everything is normal.
Is the Kurdish region beautiful? I suggest you look at the situation soberly. If you have more or less traveled around the world, then Iraqi Kurdistan will not impress you. These are bald mountains, very similar to the mountains in adjacent Turkey, where the mountains are even higher. Several small rivers, plus the rather dry Tigris, which you will see in Mosul. Two-thirds of the territory of Kurdistan is desert, exactly the same as in neighboring Syria. In terms of attractions, there are relatively few of them: a preserved fortress in Erbil (you will find the same ones in Syrian Aleppo, Turkish Gaziantep, Urfa and Diyarbakir), several badly destroyed castles in the mountains (where you can’t get to without a taxi) and fairly second-rate resorts in the mountains, categorically inferior to everyone you know. This raises the question, why go to Iraqi Kurdistan? So,
Why go to Kurdistan?
I'll tell you why I went myself. Because the Middle East is interesting, I am interested in seeing with my own eyes the formation of a new state. I am interested in the political and social situation; I want to see with my own eyes what I read about in newspapers and on the Internet. And I had no illusions that I would see something exceptional. I didn't see it. And you won't see. If you are interested in huge classical castles, you should go to Britain or India. If you want mountains and snowy peaks, go to Tibet; if you want ancient cities and narrow streets, go to Europe.
As a quick guide
Borders of Kurdistan
It is not difficult to notice that many roads leading from one Kurdish city to another cross the second zone. The Lonely Planet guide does not recommend taking direct transport from Duhok to Erbil, or from Erbil to Sulemaniya, since a considerable part of the route passes through an area with a mixed population and not entirely clear control. I took the shortest route, in the first case making a change in Mosul (and walking there for an hour and a half), and in the second case we drove through Kirkuk, or rather, going around it along the ring road. No problems were noticed.
Visa
Not required. At the border with Turkey (Ibrahim Khalil checkpoint), you simply get a stamp in your passport, giving you the right to a 10-day stay in Iraqi Kurdistan. Formally, Iraq is a single state; once you enter the country, you have the right to move throughout its entire territory. Thus, a stamp obtained in Iraqi Kurdistan gives at least a formal right to visit the whole of Iraq. I suggest you read an excerpt of text from the portal travel.ru, which very clearly and correctly talks about visiting Iraq:
...Between the Kurdish-controlled territory of Kurdistan and Arab Iraq proper there is a real border with documents and luggage checked. In each case, the issue will be resolved individually and, contrary to what is stated on a number of travel websites, tourists often travel quite easily from Kurdistan in the direction of Baghdad. A more serious concern (than visa issues) is security, and therefore travel outside of Kurdistan is strongly discouraged.
The presence of Israeli visas or any other marks is not an obstacle to visiting Iraqi Kurdistan. Moreover, Kurdistan does not prevent the entry of Israeli citizens themselves, who also receive visas upon arrival. At the same time, it is very important to keep in mind that such liberalism is a feature exclusively of Kurdistan, and in the rest of Iraq there may well be problems with the authorities. In this case, there is dual power, since the American authorities, who actually govern Iraq, do not prevent the entry of tourists visiting Israel, but Iraqi officials on the ground, according to the old tradition, can create significant difficulties...
How to get to Iraqi Kurdistan?
Only through Turkey, since in all other cases you will need an Iraqi visa. You fly (or, if you don’t mind the time, you drive) to the Turkish city of Silopi, closest to the border. If you fly, the ideal option is Mardin, which is 200 km west of the border. Less optimal is a flight to Diyarbakir, from which the border is 300 km. You can fly to Batman, but I have not tested this option, since I flew there via Diyarbakir and back via Mardin. The plane will cost $35-50 one way from Istanbul, which is equivalent to the cost of the bus, if, of course, you buy a ticket well in advance. I was doubly lucky, because I managed to get it under $80 in both directions, having guessed with a promotion from Turkish Airlines and Anadolu Jet.
From any of the listed cities there are regular buses to the city of Silopi, bordering Iraq. There are 4 buses a day from Diyarbakir, 5 from Mardin. The fare is 15-20 Turkish lira ($10-15), travel time is 3 hours from Mardin and 5 hours from Diyarbakir.
Arriving at the Silopi bus station, take a dolmus and for 1 lira you can get to the city center. Tell the driver that you need a taxi to Iraq, he will drop you off where you need it. Taxi drivers will be on duty there, taking people across the border, since crossing on foot is not allowed. This is the mafia. A full car is assembled, everyone pays 20 liras, and the driver takes care of all the formalities.
Within 2-4 hours (depending on your luck) you are transported across the border and dropped off on the Kurdistan side. From there, shabby buses (500 Iraqi dinars, or $0.50) go to the nearby town of Zakho. You can spend the night there or, if time permits, immediately travel further along the route.
Transport within Kurdistan
Minibus taxis only. In every city there are designated points (in large cities - bus stations) where taxi drivers look for their passengers, shouting out directions. Prices are stable and known to everyone. When the car is full, go, if you don’t have the time or desire to wait, pay for the whole car.
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| Bus station in Zakho |
I highly recommend checking out the excellent guide to Iraqi Kurdistan written by colleague ivanivanch. Use my report as a supplement, since two years have passed since Ivan Ivanovich wrote his report and a lot has changed. In particular, fares have increased by about a quarter of the figures indicated by him.
Hotels
Surprisingly, there are tons of hotels. In Zakho, Duhok, Erbil and Sulemaniya there are dozens of them in each city. Very different levels of service and prices. From the simplest overnight stays for $10 with shared amenities on the floor and a fan to quite respectable 3-4* hotels with all the regalia. I chose the average: clean room, air conditioning, amenities, clean bed.
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| My hotel in Erbil | My hotel in Sulamaniya |
It cost an average of $25 per day. I want to emphasize that I traveled alone, which forced me to pay a little less than the cost of a double room. In other words, you share a room for two and pay 70% of the price. Traveling with two people is cheaper, this is a truism. Money exchange |
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Contrary to what was said in the guidebook from Ivan Ivanovich (it says there that everything is clear and not cheated), I recommend changing money carefully - they tried to cheat me in one case out of three dollars by 20, relying on fatigue and inattention. We made a mistake.
Food
Typical for the Middle East and Turkey: kebabs, grilled chicken, lamb, rice, potatoes, salads. A serving costs an average of $6-8, including meat, rice, salads, bread, soup and tea.
Part two - Erbil
Taking into account the extremely unstable and dangerous situation in Iraq, the city of Erbil will become the most “historical” place available for visiting for tourists. Of course, ancient Mesopotamia is rich in such unique monuments as Nineveh, Babylon, Nimrud, Ur. Unfortunately, some of these ancient cities were destroyed in 2003 during the capture of Iraq by the American army (), and those that survived are located in the Arab sector, where there is a high risk of being killed. Thus, a tourist entering Iraqi Kurdistan is very limited in terms of archaeology. There is no such abundance of monuments in the Kurdish territories as in the Arab part. A pleasant exception is ancient Erbil: the capital of Kurdistan and one of the oldest cities in the world.
A little history
So, in modern times, Erbil (aka Howler in Kurdish) is the capital of a de facto independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq. In the center of the city stands a huge fortress, which originally appeared here in the 5th millennium BC. e., in other words, it is at least 7000 years old, and maybe more. Of course, the walls that we see today were built much later, during the Arab period, but excavations are being carried out on the territory of the fortress itself, indicating its ancient origin. By the way, it was here, near Erbil, that the decisive battle took place between the troops of Alexander the Great and the Persian king Darius. Then Erbil became a stronghold of early Christianity, then, being captured by Emir Timur (yes, the same one who is now the national hero of Uzbekistan), it experienced total Islamization. And ultimately, in 1918, Erbil, along with all of Iraq, was captured by the British, gaining independence from the latter in 1932. It is noteworthy that in 1945 it was the USSR that contributed to the creation of the Kurdish “Republic of Mehabad” in northern Iraq, under the leadership of Mustafa Barzani. As we know, Soviet troops were in the northern part of Iran during this period. The new republic did not last long, because immediately after the departure of Soviet troops, Iranian troops entered, committing brutal massacres not only against the Kurds, but also against local Assyrian Christians. Few people know that thousands of commanders and fighters of the Kurdish underground led by Barzani found refuge in the USSR, more precisely in Baku, where they were based since 1951. Barzani himself lived and studied in Moscow until 1958, when he and his fighters returned to Iraq.
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In 1970, the confrontation between the Baghdad authorities led by Saddam Hussein and the Kurds living in the north and Erbil sharply escalated. This leads to the creation of a kind of autonomy with Erbil as its capital. A Kurdish parliament and various national governance institutions appear in the city. However, Saddam saw the Kurds as a threat to the integrity of Iraq, and reduced all their autonomous independence to just one name. Then there were years of guerrilla warfare between the Iraqi army and the Kurds. The situation reached its apogee with the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war in 1980, when the Kurds took an unambiguously pro-Iranian position. Here Saddam gave himself free rein, starting the “preventive genocide” of the Kurds. During the years of the Iran-Iraq war, at least 100 thousand Kurds died, the vast majority of whom became victims of the massacre committed by Saddam. By the way, it is noteworthy that Saddam was sentenced to death in 2006 precisely for his actions against the Kurds, and specifically for the use of chemical weapons in the village of Khalyabja, where about 5,000 villagers died in a matter of hours.
Kurdistan and Israel
A separate interesting topic. The de facto independence of Iraqi Kurdistan has created an unusual precedent in light of relations between the Arab states and Israel. The fact is that the central leadership of Iraq, meeting in Baghdad, does not recognize Israel and does not allow Israeli citizens in. In this context, their policy is no different from the boycott of Israel by Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Iran and some other Muslim countries. But one of the symbols of Kurdish independence was that they recognized Israel and allowed Israeli tourists in absolutely freely, like everyone else. This fact clearly undermines the legitimacy of the Baghdad leadership and once again indicates that the integrity of Iraq has long been a myth. An interesting article on the topic of relations between Israel and the Kurds was written by my good friend and wonderful orientalist journalist Ksenia Svetlova in the newspaper.
Erbil itself, as I saw it
Since 2003, when all influence of the Arabs from Baghdad led by Saddam was neutralized, Erbil has become a full-fledged capital of Kurdistan. Observing this city these days, one cannot help but notice how much the Kurds have accomplished over the past 7 years. From complete destruction and poverty they created a fairly well-kept civilized city. And let them owe a lot to the Americans, who are investing considerable sums in the reconstruction of Iraq. So, after all, the money was invested in good things, and not stolen, as is customary in some places.
Erbil Citadel
Of course, the main attraction of the city.
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 View of the city from the walls of the citadel |
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The city is full of new buildings, there are powerful road junctions at the exits, half a dozen universities, many museums and parks. By the way, Erbil’s parks impressed me - it’s something! Lovers of oriental exotica can take a walk through the colorful bazaar - Kurdistan graffiti After many years of war and terror, it is not difficult to understand why any more or less significant institution is surrounded by concrete blocks for protection from suicide terrorists. Not to mention the complex of buildings of the Kurdistan Parliament. I was not allowed to photograph this elegant building, but I managed to take a photo of at least the concrete fence around it. Note the graffiti with a burning bus. But there is graffiti in different parts of Erbil, in particular on walls around schools and universities. I am encouraged by optimism and faith in a better future despite everything.
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Part three - city parks
What is a city park? Most of us will answer that this is a place where there is a lot of greenery, benches for relaxation and people walking en masse along shady alleys. Residents of the CIS will sigh sadly, remembering their native park, littered with beer bottles, with broken benches and an unfortunate pond in which the homeless had long ago eaten all the ducks. Residents of Europe will imagine something much more cheerful next door to their home. But tell me, how can you imagine a park in Iraq, a country tormented by wars and brutal terror? I am sure that the beauty that you will now see will pleasantly surprise and amaze you.
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The Kurdistan capital, Erbil, has three huge parks. Two of them (Menara and Azadi) are located a kilometer south of the citadel, in the very center of the city. Two wonderful parks are connected by a funicular, since a busy highway runs right between the parks. The cable car, 1800 meters long, takes you to a height of about 30 meters, from where you can clearly see the entire city. Moreover, as you drive, you see Erbil from different angles. You slowly float over two man-made lakes with waterfalls and fountains; below you there will be attractions and children's playgrounds.
It's time to wonder why the park is called Menare? As you guessed correctly, the name comes from the word “minaret”. Many centuries ago, the Sheikh Choli Mosque, built in the 11th century, stood here. Then there was an earthquake, and all that was left of the mosque was the minaret, which you can see to this day in the center of the park.
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Now look how beautiful this Erbil park is at night, just fantastic.
I happened to be in Iraq at the height of Ramadan, which the Kurds celebrate colorfully, zealously and in the spirit of tradition.
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I must admit right away that the meaning of the game between these men is not entirely clear to me, but the excitement among the public is incredible. Hundreds of people watch this game with tension, and fans continually clap their hands and sing along with the musicians who entertain Erbil residents in the evenings.
There are many countries in the world that are not marked on the map, but have all the attributes of an independent state. Everyone knows Transnistria, Abkhazia, Taiwan, Kosovo. However, it is impossible to find these names on the map: many peoples, although they managed to create their own states, are still not recognized by the world community.
One of these peoples is the Kurds. Until recently, they were the largest people in the world without their own statehood. There are up to 30 million Kurds in the world, but the territory of their settlement, conventionally called Kurdistan, is divided between Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran. The situation of the Kurds resembles the fate of the Poles after the partition of Poland: one people divided by borders and border crossings.
However, fifteen years ago, the Kurds living in Iraq had a chance to create their own state. Iraqi Kurdistan, also known as the “Kurdistan region,” is a Kurdish state entity within Iraq that has existed since 1991 under a UN mandate. After the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Iraqi Kurdistan received broad autonomy and became de facto semi-independent. I wanted to see how this state is being built and whether it is really independent during my trip to the Middle East.
“There is no Kurdistan!”
I arrived in Iraqi Kurdistan in June 2007 in the company of a Polish girl, Marta, after a long hitchhiking trip around Turkey. Friends who had visited the Kurdish lands a year earlier said that the region was very interesting, populated by friendly people, and you could get there even without a visa.
I must say that we also traveled through Turkish Kurdistan - a territory in the southeast of Turkey, where the Kurdish population is the majority. However, the Turks deny the existence of any Kurdistan. The Kurds do not even have autonomy within Turkey, and all my attempts to draw analogies with Russia (I said that we have Tatarstan, Bashkortostan and even Chechenistan) did not lead to success. “There is no Kurdistan” - this phrase was repeated to me like a mantra by all English-speaking Turks.
The feelings of the Turks are easy to understand. The fighters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party have been waging a terrorist struggle for independence for many years. As soon as you enter this region, you will see checkpoints every 20-30 kilometers, and soldiers will check the documents of all suspicious strangers.
Turks, especially those who live far from Kurdistan, will gladly tell you about wild Kurds who live according to medieval laws and blow up Turkish soldiers.
An allergy to the word “Kurdistan” almost led to trouble at the border. The only border crossing between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan is between the Turkish town of Silopi and the Kurdish town of Zakho. When Marta and I reached the Turkish-Iraqi border and gave our documents to the Turkish border guards for inspection, I inadvertently noticed that we were going to Iraqi Kurdistan. The reaction was immediate: “There is no Iraqi Kurdistan, there is only Iraq!”
After that, they didn’t want to let us go for a long time. The border guards looked at our passports and, in a mixture of Turkish, English and Russian, tried to dissuade us from crossing the border:
It's dangerous in Iraq, there's a war there. Why should you go there?
“We want to travel,” I answered tiredly.
You do not have an Iraqi visa. They won't let you through.
Fine. If they don't let us through, we'll go back.
In the end, the border guards from the “first echelon” gave the go-ahead. They stopped a taxi especially for us and asked the driver to give us a free ride to Iraqi territory. However, when approaching the border guards who were putting out exit stamps, new problems arose. The border guard sitting in the cabin tried to come up with a whole bunch of reasons just to not let us cross the border. He even said that my 23-year-old travel companion was too young to travel to such a country.
We were turned around in the opposite direction and sent to the already familiar border guards. There the verbal altercation lasted another ten minutes. However, soon another Turkish taxi driver, having heard about our problem, agreed to talk with the head of the border crossing. When we said that we were going to Iraqi Kurdistan and we didn’t need a visa, he became wary:
Hey, be careful. There is no Kurdistan!
Oh yeah, sorry. I wanted to say - to northern Iraq.
Okay, I'll take you there.
The taxi driver took us to a building near the border crossing, ran inside for half an hour, then came out and said that the big boss would soon come and help us.
It was cool and dark inside the building. Several people sat in line and waited for officials to help them resolve some problems. In the end, we were taken to the big boss, and he, after examining our passports, gave the go-ahead. So after an hour and a half we left Turkish territory.
Kurdish border guards turned out to be friendlier than their Turkish counterparts. They wished us a pleasant journey and immediately stamped us to cross the border. As my friends warned, no visa was required to travel to Iraqi Kurdistan.
If we take into account that a visa is still required for Iraq, the degree of independence of the Kurdish government becomes obvious: the Baghdad authorities did not prevent them from establishing their own visa regime. Moreover, on the same stamp there is the inscription “Republic of Iraq - Kurdistan Region”. That is, having achieved actual independence, the Kurds formally recognize that they are part of a united Iraq.
"Dahuk is a couple, Erbil is a couple"
Iraqi Kurdistan consists of three provinces: Erbil, Dohuk and Sulaymaniyah. Their total area is about 40 thousand square kilometers, their population is 3.5 million people. Kurds, however, live in other Iraqi provinces, and theoretically Iraqi Kurdistan could be approximately twice as large. However, the Kurdish provinces of Kirkuk, Mosul and Diyala are not part of the autonomous region, and travel to these territories already requires an Iraqi visa.
We entered the province of Dahuk, closest to Turkey, with its capital of the same name. The driver who took us across the border stopped at the exit from the border town of Zakkho, and then we continued our journey on our own.
It was not possible to continue it right away: soldiers immediately approached us and asked us to go to the checkpoint. Some of them knew Turkish, so I, using my weak knowledge of this language, explained that we needed to get to Erbil, but we didn’t have much money, so we were hitchhiking.
This, by the way, is the main feature of traveling in Iraqi Kurdistan: the police and military often detain and interrogate travelers. But at the same time they behave very friendly and hospitable. A guest from another country will receive an indispensable cup of tea in a glass cup and any assistance that the military is able to provide.
And so it happened: after listening to us, the soldiers said that they would catch a free car for us. They stopped the first car they came across and asked the driver to take us to the city of Dahuk. The driver did not understand a word of English, Turkish, or Russian. I only managed to learn two phrases in Kurdish: “be para” (without money) and “zor supas” (thank you very much). Nevertheless, we somehow communicated using gestures and international words.
The driver explained that he was going to Sulaymaniyah. I asked if he could take us to Erbil, which would be on his way. He asked me to take out a notepad and wrote on a blank sheet of paper: “$100.” To my surprise, the soldiers asked for a free ride, he replied:
Dahuk - be para. Erbil is a couple,” and nodded at the number.
A little later he reduced the price to $30 and was upset to learn that we wouldn’t even pay that.
Apart from the discussion with the driver, entering the country dispelled any concerns I had. I never thought that on the Iraqi border I would see roadside fountains, flower beds and lawns. However, along the road there were also ruins and strange gray structures. But still, Iraqi Kurdistan did not at all resemble a country in which there was a war. However, there has not been a real war in this area for more than 15 years.
The signs along the road use the Arabic alphabet. One of the tangible results of the separation of two peoples: although the Kurds have the same language, the Turkish Kurds have a written language based on the Latin alphabet, and the Iraqi ones are based on the Arabic script (by the way, many Kurds also lived in the Soviet Union, and Soviet linguists created an alphabet for them in based on the Cyrillic alphabet).
A mercantile driver soon brought us to Dahuk and left us at the taxi station. The taxi drivers immediately took our things out of the trunk, brought us inside, poured us tea and began to find out where we came from here.
Marta and I drank tea, explained that we didn’t understand anything, and just asked: “Is there anyone who speaks English?” Sooner or later such a person was found. An intelligent Kurdish man in a white shirt came to the taxi drivers. He said that it was impossible to hitchhike in Kurdistan, and added that they would put us in some car for free. We were actually put into a taxi, where two passengers were already sitting, and after a few minutes we were on our way.
On the way, we were able to fully appreciate the central regions of Iraqi Kurdistan. To tell the truth, the impression was rather negative. Compared to the lively, seething, trading, building Turkey, this country looked rather gray and lifeless. From the landscapes opening outside the window, it was impossible to say that this was the “breadbasket of Iraq.” Meanwhile, Iraqi Kurdistan is one of the main agricultural regions of the Middle East. Most of Iraqi wheat, fruits and almost all tobacco were grown there. But outside the window there was just hilly desert terrain with no signs of life.
There were few cities along the way. Rare roadside cafes, cobbled together from scrap materials, alternated with checkpoints, where soldiers with machine guns at the ready were bored, waiting for the next car.
There are checkpoints in Iraqi Kurdistan, as well as in southeastern Turkey, every 20-30 kilometers. Usually a soldier or policeman looks into the car, asks where the driver and passengers are going and why, and lets them pass by.
During the journey from Dohuk to Erbil, our documents were checked three times. Our fellow travelers were an elderly Kurd in a turban, vaguely reminiscent of bin Laden, and a soldier with a bandage over his eye. The latter spoke a little English and said that he had recently been blown up by a mine.
Kurdish drivers are something extraordinary. This style of driving is rarely seen in a civilized country. Driving into the oncoming lane in front of a car speeding in the opposite direction, or, conversely, driving at a snail's speed of 50 kilometers per hour in the far left lane is par for the course. Our driver turned out to be a rare reckless driver, cutting off his colleagues, overtaking oncoming cars, managing to slip right in front of the nose of a 40-ton truck.
It was already dark when we arrived in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. The taxi driver called our friend and brought us to the city center. Here we were met by Mohammed, an engineer from a local telecommunications company, with whom we had previously corresponded via the Internet. He took us around Erbil and soon brought us to his home.
Mohammed's house was located on the outskirts of the city in a fairly prosperous residential area: everywhere there were two-story houses surrounded by a fence. He lived with his mother, and his sister and her child also came to stay with him for several weeks. During the entire trip, this was, perhaps, the most luxurious place I have ever stayed in, and I traveled through much more developed countries.
The day turned out to be busy. In the morning we left Diyarbakir, the unofficial capital of Turkish Kurdistan, and now we were in the center of a country that is not marked on the world map and is officially part of the hottest spot on the planet - Iraq.
Erbil - capital of Kurdistan
Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, is one of the oldest cities in the world, existing, according to archaeologists, since the 4th millennium BC. Not far from Erbil, in the town of Gaugamela, Alexander the Great defeated the Persian king Darius in 331 BC. Ancient historians even called it the Battle of Arbela (the ancient name of Erbil).
Later the city came under the rule of Arabs, Mongols, Turks, British, and in the 20s of the last century it became part of Iraq. In the early 1990s, with independence, the city was declared the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. Erbil has a population of almost 1 million people and has an international airport and a number of important businesses.
Erbil is a city that is both new and old, dilapidated and under construction. But this is still Asia, and the European touch that exists in neighboring Turkey is much less felt here.
Houses in Erbil have a characteristic light brown color, as if everything here is made of sand. The city center is a strange combination of slums and new houses, clean streets and neglected alleys filled with garbage. A special place, as in any Middle Eastern city, is occupied by the market. They sell everything: building materials, food, clothing, household electrical appliances, books, children's toys. It seems that the residents of the city have nothing else to do than stand behind the counter and bargain with customers who very rarely approach the goods.
To obtain local currency, you should contact street money changers rather than exchange offices. Entrepreneurs are sitting right on the sidewalk, laying out stacks of banknotes from different countries on an upside-down box. When you present the currency, they calculate the required amount on a calculator and give it to you. Not a very safe way of exchange: everyone can see how much money you put and in which pocket.
Communication is carried out through street pay phones. However, it’s difficult to call them machines: there is always a special person nearby who needs to pay a little money to use the machine.
There are very few buses in Erbil and they are not the most popular form of transport. Residents prefer to use taxis to travel around the city. Taxi drivers transport several people at once, so the cost of travel for each of them is greatly reduced. So a short trip within the city will cost 0.5-1 thousand dinars (1.2 thousand dinars are approximately equal to $1). If you don’t like cramped spaces and prefer solitude, you can order a taxi just for yourself, but it, of course, will cost much more.
Foreigners are rarely seen here, so a white man with a camera evokes strong emotions. It seemed that the appearance of an alien would have caused less interest than our walk next to the Kurds. We constantly felt like the center of attention. It was as if an invisible wave was moving through the streets: carpenters stopped working, men at the tables of street cafes interrupted their conversations, merchants were distracted from their goods. Everyone fixed their gaze on us and only after a few minutes, having comprehended what they had seen, did they return to their studies.
Martha enjoyed particular success. Muslims generally rarely see naked female legs, and my companion’s skirt only reached her knees. Therefore, the Kurds, with wide eyes, looked at this liberated European woman, walking without hesitation with her head uncovered and in a skirt, which by local standards looks like the most radical mini.
However, you rarely see any women, not just liberated ones, on the streets of Erbil. 80% of passers-by are representatives of the stronger sex. And women, as it should be in a Muslim country, sit at home with their children and prepare dinner. Men trade, sweep the streets, cook and serve food in restaurants, or simply sit on low chairs and discuss important political issues. Such men are reminiscent of Russian grandmothers, sitting all day at the entrance and discussing the morals of modern youth.
The clothing of local residents combines elements of European and Oriental styles. Some wear jeans and a shirt, others wear a traditional suit with wide pants, a belt wrapped several times around the stomach and a headdress, which has for some time been associated with Islamic terrorism.
Above all this diversity rises the main attraction, which can be seen from almost anywhere in the center of Erbil. The historical center of the city, surrounded by a high wall, is a citadel, some fragments of which, according to some sources, were built in pre-Islamic times.
Actually, at one time the entire city was located in the citadel. Even until recently, people lived here. But a few years ago the government moved them down to other areas of the city, and now this place has become completely dead: apart from a couple of museums and quarters for soldiers, all the other buildings are abandoned.
According to the grandiose plans of the local authorities, a huge tourist complex will eventually appear there, including restaurants, hotels, museums and souvenir shops. But for now everything is completely deserted, and you can walk for a long time along the streets littered with stones and bricks, enter houses overgrown with weeds, climb half-collapsed stairs to the roofs and examine the city from above. It’s quiet everywhere, only the rustling wind blows debris away.
Still, there is a charm in such a place, not spoiled by the tourist rush. There are no special paths, no signs, no explanatory signs. You feel like a pioneer who sees something that almost no one has seen before.
One of the few residents left here is the owner of a shop-museum at the gates of the citadel. He met us at the entrance to the museum, took us around the halls for a long time and showed us the exhibits. Lots of things: antique utensils, books, portraits of historical figures. We found a guide to Iraq, published back in 1982, with a smiling Saddam Hussein on the third page. Perhaps, later nothing like this was produced in this country: first the region was affected by the Iran-Iraq War, then the Gulf War, then a chemical attack on the Kurds, and then the American invasion and guerrilla attacks that continue to this day. Now Iraqis have no time for tourism.
By the way, in the museum, among the entries in the guest book, we found a note from archaeologists from the Urals who visited here shortly before us.
Another attraction is the Minaret Park, which is still unfinished and is preparing to become the main recreation spot for Erbil residents in the future. During the day it is completely empty. The trees had recently been planted here and had not yet grown enough to cast much shade, so it was hot and dry almost everywhere in the park. The minaret, a large tower with a broken top, stood alone, surrounded by lawns and low trees.
Quite far from the center there is a large mosque, built quite recently. The imposing sand-colored building with two tall minarets is decorated with passages from the Koran. There was almost no one in the courtyard or inside, and to get there you had to ask the guard to open the gate. He asked what TV channel we represented, but, having learned that we were tourists, he still let us through.
Of the things that firmly connect the region with Iraq, the main place is occupied by currency - Iraqi dinars are in use here. Old banknotes with Saddam Hussein have already been withdrawn from circulation, and new money has been printed in their place, which depicts famous Iraqi landmarks. But you won’t see the Iraqi flag in Erbil; Kurdish flags hang everywhere - horizontal red, white and green stripes with the sun in the middle.
You can buy a map of Kurdistan as a souvenir. This example of cartographic fantasy deserves special attention. It marks the territories where Kurds live - from the Caucasus in the north to Kirkuk in the south, from Syria in the west to Iran in the east. This is a state that can only be imagined in a fevered imagination, because it is difficult to imagine that Iran, Syria, and Turkey will agree to cede even an inch of their land.
Throughout the city there are monuments dedicated to various figures of the Kurdish people, mosques, new shopping centers and shops. And although people are surprised by the visit of foreign guests, they are very friendly and try to show that you are in the capital of an unrecognized and small, but proud and independent state.
Turkish-Iraqi border. We are sitting at the border crossing 
Dahuk 
Erbil 
At the entrance to the citadel 
Map of Kurdistan - includes part of the territory of Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran and even a piece of Armenia 
January 2011
Everyone knows three things about Iraq: there is a lot of oil there, the arrogant Yankees invaded there and killed Saddam Hussein. Some people still know that there are no nuclear weapons in Iraq, but there is chaos and injustice. There is quite a bit of other information about Iraq, so we began to investigate this issue. It was decided to go to this country for the New Year holidays. More precisely, in Iraqi Kurdistan, because the rest (Arab) part of Iraq is mentioned everywhere as an extremely dangerous place.
Four of us set off on the journey - two of each sex. This is cost effective for two reasons:
You can take a whole car and drive without waiting for fellow travelers;
Can be successfully dumped in hotels
The time for travel was chosen, in our opinion, ideal - New Year's holidays - in winter it is cool here, no more than 15 degrees Celsius. And in the summer the heat is 50 and above.
Unfortunately, it was not possible to take a normal camera due to its breakdown, so all photographs were taken using a good-quality point-and-shoot camera. There will also be a detailed video about the trip soon.
There are several useful reports on the Internet about the trip to Kurdistan, which we used to plan the route. First of all, this is a report, widely distributed on the Internet, secondly, a report by a bushy-haired photoblogger, thirdly, this opus of comrade Mykola with many photographs and, finally, a guide by LiveJournalist ivanivanych.
about country
Not many people know about Iraqi Kurdistan. Everyone knows about Iraq, and mostly they know about it from the news. Iraqi Kurdistan is an autonomy within Iraq and is largely an independent state. From Iraq he inherited a sad story, currency, borders and stamps in your passport.
Kurdistan is a country “at the beginning of its journey,” as the seller of the only wine and vodka store in Erbil aptly told us. After many years of oppression by Saddam Hussein and the genocide of the Kurdish population, this country is now actively developing and taking leaps and bounds towards a bright future.
Kurdistan has its own president, Masoud Barzani, who is very respected there. His portraits hang everywhere, and in many ways his policies ensured freedom and stability there relative to the rest of Iraq.
For some time, Kurdistan was under the protection of Iran and the United States, so there is no negative attitude towards foreigners there. On the contrary, the country has taken the path to attract foreign investment and develop tourism, and you will be greeted everywhere with a smile and open arms.
In general, in the Kurdish part of Iraq there are not many attractions and the nature is rather sparse (although, undoubtedly, for those who are actively exploring the world, all of the above will also be far from uninteresting), but this is not why it is worth going there.
It's worth going because of the people. It is enough to stay there for a few hours to understand that these people are not like us. The distinctive feature of any business in Kurdistan, be it a taxi, a hotel or a fruit stand, is that its goal is not to earn money, but to satisfy the client. We always felt, as it seemed to us, a special attitude towards ourselves.
Border crossing
Kurdistan and Iraq have different visa regimes. It is quite difficult to get to Baghdad, but to Kurdistan is easy, just come with your passport to the Silopi-Zakho border crossing. There are still options to fly from Turkey by plane to Erbil airport and cross the border from Iran. This method has not been tested due to its low reliability. There are no problems with the first one.
You can only cross the border by car. If you came on foot, of course they will put you in any available car, but since you still need to somehow get to the border guards, we are not considering this option. The border crossing point at Silopi is quite popular, so there are a huge number of taxi drivers on duty on both sides, ready to help you.
Entering Iraq from Turkey
To get to the border, you need to fly to the nearest Turkish city - this is either Diyarbakir or Mardin. From there you need to take a bus to the town of Cizre. There is absolutely no need to go to Silopi - a car to cross the border will cost the same both from Cizre and from Silopi - 20 Turkish lira per person (that’s about 15 dollars). For this amount, the driver will transport you abroad and take care of all the registration formalities - you will give your passports to him during the transition, this is normal.
At the border we felt Iraqi hospitality. We were taken into a beautiful room with leather sofas, treated to tea, given our passports and wished us a safe journey. At the same time, a small crowd of either Turks or Kurds was not allowed inside and they waited outside. Everything was done quickly, we didn’t even really talk to anyone.
Immediately after arriving in Iraq, you will be greeted by a cheerful fraternity of local taxi drivers who are ready to take you anywhere in Kurdistan. Do not put your passports away; you will need them more than once when passing through numerous checkpoints.
Traveling from Iraq to Turkey
Arriving at the same parking lot from which you started your trip to Iraq, you will see many taxi drivers ready to take you anywhere in Turkey. We liked a guy who agreed to take everyone to Diyarbakir at once for $150, which costs about the same as taking a bus, and it’s not a long trip there.
Coming back is a slightly more drawn out procedure, because on the border between Iraq and Turkey there are a couple of wonderful Duty Free stores (a liter of whiskey is $4!), which all the locals use to import cigarettes into Turkey, which are incredibly expensive there due to the struggle with smoking. Therefore, as you pass through the border, the car will be stuffed with cigarettes wherever possible, and they will also ask you to take a few blocks “for yourself” - don’t worry, this is normal.
On the way back, there are about the same number of formalities, but you will have to present your luggage for thorough inspection by the Turkish border guards, who will look for stashes of cigarettes there.
Movement
Getting around the country is in wheelbarrows. Cities have taxi stations from which intercity carriers depart. If you are alone, you will wait until the car is full. There were four of us, so we didn’t expect anything, and we didn’t need a taxi station; taxi drivers caught on the street would happily take us to another city. There are a lot of taxi drivers, so the first car almost always stopped.
An approximate cost map for a car for four passengers is shown below:
The prices for transportation can be said to be fixed, and no one will try to deceive you. But in any case, it’s better to find out the price in advance, anything can happen. Traveling as a group of four gives you a wonderful opportunity to stop along the way to take photos, go to the toilet or buy fruit.
Food
Food in Iraq is not as tasty as, for example, in Turkey. The main course is, of course, meat.
Street food.
The meat is mainly chicken or lamb - in pieces or in the form of minced meat. The name depends on how it is prepared:
Wrapped in pita bread - kebab or doner.
Placed in a bun - kofte.
Spread on a flatbread - this is Turkish pide or lahmacun. Added vegetables - pizza.
There is also some fish, also packaged in buns, some unknown crap in the form of chicken balls, some roasted chestnuts and other nonsense.
In short, eat meat, you will be healthier. We have not encountered a single instance of low-quality food being sold on the street.
Restaurants here are a completely separate issue. Iraq has a decent number of restaurants of different types and statuses, but the food seems to be the same in all of them.
There is no menu even in the most central restaurant in the city. Don’t be alarmed when, even before you place an order, they will serve you a clearing of soup, vegetables, pickles, sauces, flatbreads and water. This is how it is done here, it is included in the price and you don’t have to give it up. And they do this everywhere - both in restaurants and in cheap eateries. Along with your chosen dish, you will be given several plates of sauces to make the meat even tastier! And finally, of course, tea, in which there are two or three spoons of sugar at the bottom) Iraqis have a sweet tooth! For all this pleasure you pay a fixed price, regardless of whether you eat it all or not. Our most expensive bill was 50,000 dinars for 4 people.
Money and prices
Throughout Iraq there is one currency - the Iraqi dinar. The minimum banknote we came across was 250 dinars - about 25 cents. There are no iron small things at all. The exchange rate at the time of our stay was approximately 1150 dinars per dollar. In hotels you can pay in dollars or euros.
You can exchange money anywhere - in a hotel, in a store or at a “specialized” exchange point - on the street with a man who has a wad of money on his table. They change willingly and do not deceive. By the way, it was not possible to change money in banks.
Prices are mostly reasonable. Not cheaper and not more expensive than what we are used to.
Another pleasant fact is that no one tried to deceive us in Kurdistan. No one inflated the price, as they like to do in Turkey. You can take a city taxi without agreeing on the price in advance. There was even a taxi driver who didn't want to take any money from us at all.
Approximate prices in dinars (we discard three zeros - we get the price in dollars, very convenient!):
Kofte (sandwich with meat and vegetables) - 3000...5000
Lunch at an eatery - 5000...7000
Lunch at the restaurant - 7000-12000
Taxi in Erbil 3000...5000
Can of cola 500
Bottle of water 250.
All prices here are multiples of 250, and even for chewing gum you will have to pay a whole piece of paper, because there is simply nothing to give in change. Although, most likely, they will simply give you this chewing gum for free.
Kurdistan is far from being a poor country, as it might seem at first glance. Huge oil reserves and good relations with other countries allow the import of many goods at low prices. There are a lot of cars on the streets made in 2010-2011, including Hummers and other expensive cars. 50% of all cars are brand new Toyota Corollas; almost all taxis use them. Brand new Chryslers painted taxi yellow look especially strange.
They like to highlight the year of manufacture of a jalopy with stickers on the rear window.
Accommodation
There is no need to book anything in advance. There are a huge number of hotels in Kurdistan. Prices are about the same: 40-60 dollars for a good double room with breakfast. You can, of course, live in a rooming house for $20, but compared to other expenses, I don’t think it’s justified. You can and should bargain in hotels.
Almost everywhere there is air conditioning and a boiler. Everything else is standard. If you have any questions, please contact the reception - as a rule, they are always very responsive and ready to help in any situation, if they can understand you, of course. Their level of English is quite weak.
We stayed at the Rasan Hotel (center of Dohuk) and Pak Motel (center of Erbil) - everything was very good, of course there were little things (there weren’t enough pillows, there were traffic jams), but all this was solved through the reception and sign language. Well, in general, just walk around the center a little and choose the hotel you like. It’s better to ignore all sorts of recommendations from nerds from Lonely Planet, LiveJournalists and adherents of bedbugs in the pursuit of an extra two bucks.
Some hotels may try to separate couples into different rooms based on gender if you are not legally married, but you can ask not to do this. This was the case in Dohuk. We were asked to move into different rooms with our girls and under no circumstances drink beer. But our plans for that night were grandiose - to break all these regulations, which we did without hindrance! However, it is better to observe the rules of decency and not abuse Kurdish hospitality.
Breakfast at the hotel is the same as anywhere else in the world.
Safety
To be honest, at the time of entering the country there was some excitement - we passed through the slums of the border town of Zakho and thought that we were already being taken to a damp hole. But only one day passed to make sure that Iraqi Kurdistan is completely safe, in my opinion, even more a safer country than Russia. You can walk outside quite calmly in the evenings and at night. There are no special Muslim rules of behavior, as, for example, in Iran. Women do not have to wear a headscarf at all. Of course, if you dress up completely openly, you can catch dissatisfied glances, but nothing more. The residents of Kurdistan themselves are divided into those who are still faithful to traditions - they wear a burqa or hijab and look in surprise at foreign women with their heads uncovered. Others walk in our usual attire. Especially many of the latter were seen in the town of Ankawa, a kind of stronghold of sinfulness in Kurdistan.
There are many checkpoints between the cities where all passing cars are stopped for document checks. You, as tourists, most likely will not have any problems.
You will arouse more interest in the local population than they do in you. Everyone will take pictures with you, especially if you are a girl and blonde at the same time. We even thought about hanging a sign “photo with a blonde: 2000 dinars” and making some money. And now we regret that we didn’t do this.
It is much more serious if you decide to travel outside of Kurdistan to the south. As the Kurds themselves unanimously say, even for a million they won’t go towards Baghdad - there is a high chance they won’t be able to travel even ten kilometers. They will be killed, and you will be taken prisoner for a ransom, which, of course, no one will pay and you will go home in several sports bags. Although, perhaps the situation is much better than they say.
Cities
We managed to visit all the main cities except Sulaymaniyah, for which, unfortunately, we did not have enough time. In Sulaymaniyah there is a museum of the genocide of the Kurdish population and there is military equipment. Below is more information about the cities we visited.
Erbil (aka Arbil or Hawler)
Erbil is the capital of the Kurdish state. This rather large city with a population of about a million is comfortably located around the ruins of an ancient citadel. Erbil has a number of attractions and simply interesting objects.
The citadel is the ruins of an ancient city. Almost all of it is ruins. Try to sneak behind the fences unnoticed to climb through the many labyrinths. This is really interesting. There is no concept of floor or street. The rooms are stuck one on top of the other, hanging over narrow passages, the passages pass from the ground to the roofs through narrow rickety stairs. Unfortunately, security noticed us almost immediately and asked us to get out of these four-dimensional labyrinths.
These same warriors invited us to their place and treated us to their delicious lunch of millet porridge with a lot of chicken, and they were constantly trying to give us more. And then we sat with them in the relaxation room and drank tea! Apparently, tourists are rare there, since they showed us a lot of attention: they took pictures on their phones, fed, watered and told us as best they could about the citadel and Kurdistan. The citadel has a store with antiques from all over the world, where among the copies there are even Russian samovars.
Near the citadel is the city center with a fountain and market. There is nothing interesting on the market. Iraq itself produces practically nothing interesting for tourists, except kebab. All goods are either from China or Turkey.
There are many hookah smokers around the fountain. There are a bunch of photographers hanging around who, for 2,000 dinars, can take you an unforgettable photo right here and now and print it right away.
Erbil parks
Erbil also has several beautiful parks. Two of them are connected by a funicular.
They are located in the city center and can be found by following the "Minaret Park" sign on the roads. The parks are especially interesting in the evening. They are all simply strewn with blinking garlands. You can easily get an epileptic seizure from this sight. The funicular is turned on late in the evening; the ride is a little expensive, but worth it.
Entertainment center
And near the parks there is something that we did not expect to see in Iraq at all - a large entertainment center. It includes: a water park, ice skating rink, mini golf, paintball, shooting club, tennis and bowling. By chance we met the wonderfully English-speaking owner of this entire establishment. While playing golf, he told us a lot of interesting things about his business and life in Iraq.
A huge store built according to the Mega principle. There are a lot of international brand boutiques inside.
Prices there are no cheaper than in Okhotny Ryad; there are no locally produced goods. It’s worth a visit just to be happy for the local population and marvel at the pace of the country’s recovery. We even managed to give an interview to local television there.
Mosques are the same as everywhere else. They are used by the local population solely for their intended purpose and are not special attractions.
The largest mosque we noticed is located near the citadel.
Ankawa is a predominantly Christian area of Erbil. Its residents told us that it is the richest city in all of Iraq. This is probably true.
The architecture here is slightly different: there are many beautiful cottages, and there is practically no street trading. Ankava is simply strewn with cheap wine and vodka shops ($20 per liter of Jack Daniels!), there are also bars and clubs, although the mood in the clubs is not at all clubby. Everyone simply reveled in modern oriental musical motifs. There is no dancing. And yet, the locals do not have a clear attitude towards alcohol, so it is better not to openly drink beer on the street. One local taxi driver refused to take us after seeing a bottle of whiskey.
There are several Christian churches and some strange religious organizations here. There are even sculptural compositions depicting in paint the process of the birth of Christ.
Visitors from other countries who have businesses in the country also settle in Ankawa. There we met Armenians, Georgians, and some missionaries from Europe or the USA. In general, the city is similar to a European cottage community, only each house is different from the other.
Interestingly, the people of Ankawa do not like the people of Erbil, and vice versa. During the New Year celebrations, entry into Ankawa from Erbil was generally closed by the military out of harm's way.
Ankawa is being developed by local authorities as a special economic zone. A tax deferment has been introduced here for 10 years, which gives a good impetus to the influx of investment and the emergence of business. So, I think that in a couple of years this settlement will be completely different from what we have seen so far.
Dohuk (aka Duhok)
We spent a little less than a day in Dohuk; it seemed to us more conservative than Erbil, and much larger in size. There are not many attractions in Dohuk.
Panorama
The panorama is a pedestal with two huge bronze sculptures, which, according to the idea, should be inserted into one another.
From there you can see the whole of Dohuk and the huge Kurdistan flag painted on the mountain. The panorama was built as a symbol of freedom and tolerance, which is why its full name is Freedom Panorama. Located near the city center.
It's beautiful here. In the heat you can probably swim. Under the dam there is a nice park with a waterfall and restaurants. A huge flag of Kurdistan is painted on the dam itself. The place is popular among tourists and locals who love to walk and take pictures here.
Surely there is something else in the city, but we no longer had time and we headed back to Turkey.
Amedi (Al-Amedi, Amedia, Al-Amadiah)
An ancient town located in a picturesque location on a flat mountain top. You can get there in a leisurely couple of hours by car from Dohuk. A local resident stated that the town was built at 200 years ago, but most likely the town is much older. In general, a couple of hours is enough to visit Amedee, unless you plan to have a picnic in its surroundings.
The town is very small and in itself is not of particular value. From its edges, which are quite clearly defined by a sheer cliff, there is a stunning view of the mountains.
The road to Amedi is very picturesque. Along the way there is Saddam's former house, and on the top of one of the mountains is his castle. But it seems you can only get there by helicopter.
There are several hotels and restaurants at the entrance to Amedee, but in the city itself we did not see a single cafe, restaurant or hotel.
Apparently, Amedi is the center of political life in Kurdistan. It contains many buildings bearing the names of Iraq's various political parties, including the Communist Party. There is also a small Turkish military base there.
Conclusion
There are no particularly interesting man-made or natural attractions there. But, if you want to break your mold, which is persistently imposed on you through television, be sure to visit this country. Kurdistan is a country that managed to recover from complete devastation in a very short time. Comparing it with Russia, one becomes ashamed of the Motherland. Being surrounded by the company of kind and sympathetic people of Kurdistan, you are surprised at the versatility of our world even in the modern era, when, it would seem, everything is already known, understandable and the same.
We also have a video report from this trip.
Gregory
09/02/2011 22:01
The opinions of tourists may not coincide with the opinions of the editors.
In the heart of Iraqi Kurdistan is the city of the country - Erbil. In the middle of the city there is an ancient citadel, rising at an altitude of about 30 meters and located on an area of over 100 thousand square meters. m.
According to scientists, this citadel was built at least five thousand years BC, in order to protect against constant sieges. Permanent settlements settled on its territory one thousand years later. The fortress embankment rises at an angle of 45 degrees. The fortress wall consists of the facades of residential buildings built close to each other. In total, there are about a hundred houses along the perimeter. Initially, the entrance to the city was only from the southern slope. Later, two more entrances were added. Throughout the twentieth century, the population of the citadel steadily decreased and, according to the 1995 census, there were 1,600 inhabitants for approximately 500 houses.
Erbil is the third largest city in Iraq after Baghdad and Mosul. The city is located eighty kilometers east of Mosul, and is the capital of Kurdistan.
The city was under the rule of many regional powers during this time, such as the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Sassanids, Arabs and Turks. The city's archaeological museum contains only pre-Islamic artifacts.
The modern city of Erbil stands on top of an Ottoman fortress. During the Middle Ages, Erbil became a major trading center on the route between Baghdad and Mosul, a role it still plays today as an important transport link to the outside world. The population of Assyrian Christians (about 20,000) live mainly in suburbs such as Ankawa.
The Kurdistan Autonomous Parliament was established in Erbil in 1970 after negotiations between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Democratic Party led by Mustafa Barzani, but was effectively controlled by Saddam Hussein until the Kurdish uprising in the late 1991 Gulf War. The legislature ceased to function effectively in the mid-1990s, when fighting began between the two main Kurdish factions, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The city was captured by the KDP in 1996 with the assistance of Saddam Hussein's Iraqi government. The PUK then created an alternative Kurdish government in Sulaymaniyah. The KDP claims that as of March 1996 the PUK asked for Iranian help in fighting the KDP. Considering this as a foreign attack on Iraqi soil, the KDP asked the central Iraqi government for assistance.
The Kurdish parliament in Erbil convened after a peace agreement was signed between the Kurdish parties in 1997, but had no real power. The Kurdish government in Erbil had control only in the western and northern parts of the autonomous region.
During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the United States Special Forces task force was headquartered just outside Erbil. The city was the site of ecstatic celebrations on April 10, 2003, after the fall of Baghdad.
Erbil Citadel is an ancient citadel located in northern Mesopotamia in the center of the city of Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan.
The citadel was built on layers of archaeological excavations that represent successive historical settlements since the construction of the first village took place around the 6th millennium BC. The total area of this citadel is 102,000 square meters and it rises 26 meters from ground level.
Scientists have found that the history of the city begins in the 11th century BC and can be traced back to the 4th century BC. The city was originally called Urbilum (or "City of the Four Sanctuaries"). It was near it that the legendary battle took place between Alexander the Great and Darius III, immortalized in history as the Battle of Gaugamela-Arbela in 331 BC.
The main North Asian trade route, the Royal Road, passed through Erbil; it connected the central part of the Persian kingdom with the shores of the Aegean Sea. That is why in modern Erbil one can often find Sumerian and Assyrian influences, as well as monuments of the Sassanids, Parthia, and the first Christian and Islamic buildings. Traces of the Ottoman and Mongol empires are very noticeable.
Mudafariyya Minaret (or Broken Minaret) is the second main attraction of Erbil. Its height is 33 m, and it was founded in the 13th century. You should definitely visit the ancient Qaysari bazaar, which is located south of the citadel. The very first trading shops appeared here during the times of the Assyrians, and the complex itself dates back to the 16th-19th centuries.
Fans of architectural delights will be happy to see the magnificent, albeit slightly pompous, building of the Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament, as well as the complex of ministries located nearby.
You should definitely check out the Museum of Civilization, which displays a rich collection of cultural objects from the pre-Islamic period. Interesting is the Ethnographic Museum and Institute named after. Salah ad-Din, and nature lovers will be delighted with the Kani-Omar-Aga waterfalls located near the city.
Here you can watch blogger puerrtto’s journey around the city - http://puerrtto.livejournal.com/110706.html
It was here that the Persian king Darius III gathered his armies from the subject peoples to repel the Macedonians. The city became famous thanks to the decisive victory it won near Arbel (more precisely, near the town of Gaugamela, 75 km northwest of Arbel) in 331 BC. e. Alexander the Great over the Persian king Darius III. After the defeat, Darius fled through this city, and ancient historians call the battle itself the Battle of Arbela, although a more geographically accurate name has now been established - the Battle of Gaugamela. In the 3rd century. BC e. - III century the capital of the small kingdom of Adiabene, (otherwise “Arbelitis”), subject to Parthia, then became the capital of the governorship of the Sassanid state. Adiabene is known in Jewish tradition for the fact that its rulers at the beginning of the century. e. accepted Judaism; but by the end of antiquity Christianity became the main religion of the population. The city is famous for the martyrdom of 350 Christians during the persecution in 345. In general, Assyrian Christians remained the main population of Erbil and the surrounding area until the defeat of the city by Timur (1397), when only one Assyrian village survived. From 642 Erbil, along with all of Mesopotamia, fell under the rule of the Arabs and began to become Islamized.
In 1144, the Turkic atabek Zeinuddin Ali Kuchuk turned Erbil into the center of an independent emirate. This emirate flourished under the emir Muzafar-ed-Din Gokburu (1190 - 1232), son-in-law of the Egyptian Sultan Saladin. In the Muslim world, Muzaffar is famous for introducing the celebration of the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad - the first such holiday was held with great luxury in Erbil in 1207. Under Muzaffar, several buildings were built that have survived to this day, including the second (after the citadel) landmark city - Muzaffariyya Minaret (now better known as the “Broken Minaret”) - a 33-meter tower that was once part of the madrasah complex.
Muzaffar also built the Kaisariya bazaar, which is also preserved (in a rebuilt form). During the same era, the famous Muslim historian and writer, Kurdish Ibn Khalikan, was born in Erbil. In 1258, after a year-long siege, the city was captured by the Mongols and ruled it until 1410 (that is, until the death of Timur). Then it was owned by the short-lived states of Kara Koyunlu and Ak Koyunlu and Shah Ismail Safavid. The city was taken from the latter in 1517 by the Turks, whose power remained for exactly 400 years. In November 1918, Erbil was occupied by the British, who made it the capital of a special governorate. Since 1921, part of Iraq.
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