At 8.00, I could go with Naim to the border town of Silopi. He had to deliver a load of gas bottles for Iraq. In Silopi I took a seat in a taxi and drove towards the border.
The borderpolice was very friendly. After I was asked about my travel plans in Iraq and warned explicitly to avoid the Arab part of Iraq, I got my free 10 day visa.
Zakho
I realized I need Iraqi Dinar as soon as possible, when I could hardly satisfy the taxi driver, who had brought me from the border to the nearby city of Zakho, with the rest of my Turkish Lira. After asking around for some time, it turned out that there is no place in Zakho to get money with my cards. Consequently I had to sacrifice a part of my dollars.
Zakho is a nice city with an old stone bridge and a bazaar, where the main trades are cigarettes and tea for smuggling to Turkey. Furthermore, it appears that most visitors to the Iraqi Kurdistan drive straight to Dohuk, because the reactions of the locals on me were very pronounced. This was most evident, as a whole busload of school children turned to me, some waved, and one said to me the almost obligatory "Hello! How are you?".
The highlight was however, that I could watch the game of Borussia Dortmund against Frankfurt and the subsequent championship celebration live on Dubai sports in my hotel room.
Dohuk
I took the only affordable transportation in Iraqi Kurdistan, a filled taxi, from Zakho to Dohuk. Dohuk is a similar unspectacular town like Zakho, but unspectacular is not necessarily a bad thing in a country still plagued by suicide bombers and car bombs.
Even after thinking a long time about my stay in Dohuk, I can't come up with something worth writing.
The borderpolice was very friendly. After I was asked about my travel plans in Iraq and warned explicitly to avoid the Arab part of Iraq, I got my free 10 day visa.
Zakho
I realized I need Iraqi Dinar as soon as possible, when I could hardly satisfy the taxi driver, who had brought me from the border to the nearby city of Zakho, with the rest of my Turkish Lira. After asking around for some time, it turned out that there is no place in Zakho to get money with my cards. Consequently I had to sacrifice a part of my dollars.
Zakho is a nice city with an old stone bridge and a bazaar, where the main trades are cigarettes and tea for smuggling to Turkey. Furthermore, it appears that most visitors to the Iraqi Kurdistan drive straight to Dohuk, because the reactions of the locals on me were very pronounced. This was most evident, as a whole busload of school children turned to me, some waved, and one said to me the almost obligatory "Hello! How are you?".
The highlight was however, that I could watch the game of Borussia Dortmund against Frankfurt and the subsequent championship celebration live on Dubai sports in my hotel room.
Dohuk
I took the only affordable transportation in Iraqi Kurdistan, a filled taxi, from Zakho to Dohuk. Dohuk is a similar unspectacular town like Zakho, but unspectacular is not necessarily a bad thing in a country still plagued by suicide bombers and car bombs.
Even after thinking a long time about my stay in Dohuk, I can't come up with something worth writing.
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