Hi !
Long time since the last news. Few reasons to that. I received a sms saying that I got a 100eur data roaming bill in 3 days. That would be good enough alone but then also I opened this week a couple of good old Robert Ludlum novels. You know when you open them but not when you close them. Some days I set the camp mid-afternoon to start reading :-)
Ir was not possible to enter Iraqi Kurdistan south, so I had to drive 300km up north on roads I took already. I didn't mind as the scenery was really nice but there has not been a stretch of 1km flat and straight with a bend in average every 30m. Moreover, i did it on the day of Eid and all the "Sunday drivers" were on the road. In addition I forgot the cap of a fuel tank at a petrol station and I was controled for more than half an hour by bored cops that wanted to spice up their afternoon. I became so aggressive on the road that I decided to stop for the day along a nice river.
The day after I reached the border post. From Piranshar, the way was not really oubvious and I had to ask the way more than 10 times.
On the Iranian side everything went fine. They still wanted to see everything in the car, but again more out of curiosity than anything else.
I had still some doubt about the Iraqi side as my Carnet de Passage (the car passport) is not valid in Iraq and I was not sure if I could really get the visa on arrival. Everybody was in civilian clothes, making it pretty confusing. After another search of the car, showing my passport in 4 different offices, I could go for the stamp. And they didn't require the CPD, just the international registration.
Only one issue, as I was supposed to come here on the way back, i didn't have the exchange rate on my spreadsheet. And as an additional challenge I decided to travel only with Euros, no dollars. At the change desk, I had to explain what a euro was and their offer was a bit fishy so I left. But I forgot the banks were closed and that I wouldn't visit a city for 3 days. So I had to tap on my food reserve for a few days and bargain a lot for petrol.
So I was in Iraq...
But forget everything you have seen on television about Iraq. Kurdistan is no desert. It is the same moutains you have on Iran side but greener. Nice cliffs, nice canyons, nice everything.
But back to a place of hegemony for japanese cars. In the villages, cinder blocks, concrete and flashy paint replace rapidly the traditional materials. Here only the older people wear the traditional kurdish dress.
For the history of Iraqi Kurdistan, Please go to Wikipedia. Just know that they have been on and off at war for the last 30 years (rusty shells of .50 ammo found in the morning on my first campsite reminded me if need be) and that they are not too found on Arab Iraqis.
First objective was confluence point 36 degrees north and 45 degrees east. It took me 3 days to get there but the visit was a succes. A lot of reconnaissance, some mechanical problems and a relocation of my camp by the army 30 kilometers away one night (they were afraid of wild animals attacking me, I was furious). The point was situated in the water of Dukan lake in a fjord-looking channel (for people of Dubai, imagine Musandam but greener). To get to the other bank 100m away by car would probably have taken 150km by car if possible at all.
I didn't really wanted to go to Erbil but again mechanical problems drove me there. Fuel pumps and carburetors showed signs of weakness. I thought it was due to dust in one tank, but apparently the cause is the shitty quality of the petrol in Kurdistan. The industrial zone of the garages is more messy than in Sharjah if you can believe it :-). I stayed 2 nights in Erbil. After 1 month in the countryside, the city looks like Manhattan to me :-)
I spent one evening at the T-Bar, a sport lounge in the christian area ofthe city. The meeting place of the expat community in Erbil. Could have been Pat's place in Lagos or the Nakheel in the good old days in Ras al Keymah. We won the so british trivia night with Joe, a fellow traveller that settled in Erbil for a while. The second night I spent at Adel's place. He is the only english speaking garage owner of Erbil and he helped me a lot.
To be continued or I will never post this one :-)
I am now in Turkey for the past 6-7 days.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Long time since the last news. Few reasons to that. I received a sms saying that I got a 100eur data roaming bill in 3 days. That would be good enough alone but then also I opened this week a couple of good old Robert Ludlum novels. You know when you open them but not when you close them. Some days I set the camp mid-afternoon to start reading :-)
Ir was not possible to enter Iraqi Kurdistan south, so I had to drive 300km up north on roads I took already. I didn't mind as the scenery was really nice but there has not been a stretch of 1km flat and straight with a bend in average every 30m. Moreover, i did it on the day of Eid and all the "Sunday drivers" were on the road. In addition I forgot the cap of a fuel tank at a petrol station and I was controled for more than half an hour by bored cops that wanted to spice up their afternoon. I became so aggressive on the road that I decided to stop for the day along a nice river.
The day after I reached the border post. From Piranshar, the way was not really oubvious and I had to ask the way more than 10 times.
On the Iranian side everything went fine. They still wanted to see everything in the car, but again more out of curiosity than anything else.
I had still some doubt about the Iraqi side as my Carnet de Passage (the car passport) is not valid in Iraq and I was not sure if I could really get the visa on arrival. Everybody was in civilian clothes, making it pretty confusing. After another search of the car, showing my passport in 4 different offices, I could go for the stamp. And they didn't require the CPD, just the international registration.
Only one issue, as I was supposed to come here on the way back, i didn't have the exchange rate on my spreadsheet. And as an additional challenge I decided to travel only with Euros, no dollars. At the change desk, I had to explain what a euro was and their offer was a bit fishy so I left. But I forgot the banks were closed and that I wouldn't visit a city for 3 days. So I had to tap on my food reserve for a few days and bargain a lot for petrol.
So I was in Iraq...
But forget everything you have seen on television about Iraq. Kurdistan is no desert. It is the same moutains you have on Iran side but greener. Nice cliffs, nice canyons, nice everything.
But back to a place of hegemony for japanese cars. In the villages, cinder blocks, concrete and flashy paint replace rapidly the traditional materials. Here only the older people wear the traditional kurdish dress.
For the history of Iraqi Kurdistan, Please go to Wikipedia. Just know that they have been on and off at war for the last 30 years (rusty shells of .50 ammo found in the morning on my first campsite reminded me if need be) and that they are not too found on Arab Iraqis.
First objective was confluence point 36 degrees north and 45 degrees east. It took me 3 days to get there but the visit was a succes. A lot of reconnaissance, some mechanical problems and a relocation of my camp by the army 30 kilometers away one night (they were afraid of wild animals attacking me, I was furious). The point was situated in the water of Dukan lake in a fjord-looking channel (for people of Dubai, imagine Musandam but greener). To get to the other bank 100m away by car would probably have taken 150km by car if possible at all.
I didn't really wanted to go to Erbil but again mechanical problems drove me there. Fuel pumps and carburetors showed signs of weakness. I thought it was due to dust in one tank, but apparently the cause is the shitty quality of the petrol in Kurdistan. The industrial zone of the garages is more messy than in Sharjah if you can believe it :-). I stayed 2 nights in Erbil. After 1 month in the countryside, the city looks like Manhattan to me :-)
I spent one evening at the T-Bar, a sport lounge in the christian area ofthe city. The meeting place of the expat community in Erbil. Could have been Pat's place in Lagos or the Nakheel in the good old days in Ras al Keymah. We won the so british trivia night with Joe, a fellow traveller that settled in Erbil for a while. The second night I spent at Adel's place. He is the only english speaking garage owner of Erbil and he helped me a lot.
To be continued or I will never post this one :-)
I am now in Turkey for the past 6-7 days.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
