Recent travel notes

Some very helpful travel tips from Jo, who was in Iraq in June:

Getting in from Iran at Haj Omran border crossing, no problem, is open to foreigners and visa on arrival for Kurdistan and the other way round no problem either, but need Iranian visa in advance. Possibility to take 1 or 2 minibuses(10000 Rials) from Orumiyeh bus terminal to Piranshahr (or like i did via Oshnavieh first one left at 6:00am then on to Piranshahr after a one hour wait 5000 Rial each, less than 1 euro total ) and hitch with trucks to the border from there, not far less than 10 KM or take a taxi for the last bit ( but i did see a few minibuses waiting on the iranian side of the border, maybe possible) or there are quite a few direct buses, 35$, from Orumyeh to Erbil. I got a free ride from Piranshahr to the border on one of these luxury liners but don't count on it, a friendly guy at the bus office smuggled me on. From Piranshahr they wanted still 30$ to Erbil! To Erbil from the border post you can hitch with Trucks or take a (shared) taxi to Erbil, 15000-20000 Dinar. It cost me 20000 as I took 2 different cars...

Erbil Hotels i stayed at the Al Zhur hotel look for the Shahraban Tourist Hotel sign on the corner, its opposite, nice tea house next door, and ok internet up the stairs next door too, you called it Al Thur, in the 4 bed dorm for 7000Dinar, had attached bath and satellite TV, have been in much worse. But not for everybody. My 2 room mates were older men from Baghdad and I went with one of them to Slemani, really nice and sheperded me around and put me on the minibus to go to the center of Slemani. The Yezidi managers were really friendly. There is a great BBQ stand out in front with delicious liver on a stick, 5000 dinar for 4 with a plate of salad, not bad. The textile museum in the Citadel of Erbil is very good and free. Around it, north, are some burned down mansions and some restored ones and some abandoned ones which are lovely to explore [I agree! - bpi]. Everything else is off limits really, lots of military presence in the citadel.

Erbil to Slemani took a Minibus, called Coaster, skirted the suburbs of Kirkuk, on the outer ringroad, never entered, but at the checkpoint I had to get out across the road to be questioned. a little risky maybe to cross there in so obvious a target. But went well, took 3.5 hours and cost 8000 Dinar.

Slemani got off at the big crossroads before the turnoff that gets you to the garage ( between Malik Mahmood Ring Road or 60 meter circular and Salim street), has a huge new overpass running over the crossroads (a traffic circle) took a minibus 350 Dinar to the center of Slemani(along Salim St) got off at the municipal park.

Slemani hotels asked around and found a real rough little cheapy (love them) the Salahudin, 3000 Dinar for a dorm bed ( no attached bathroom, toilet at end of corridor and shower costs extra if I understood right, haven't tried it yet. No sign, only in Arabic, up a little all white staircase white and red sign over the door, just 5 meters south of the red sign for Paris or Peris Internet, can't miss it. It's on Kawa st, northern third, just after the crossroads with Mawlawi St. First hotel I checked was hotel Sheren or Sherin Hotel just 50m south of that crossroads on Kawa St. 100m north of the Salahudin Hotel.

travel blogs, backpackiraq on twitter

, A great travel blog from Joe, a Canadian who recently travelled through Iraqi Kurdistan. There are some fantastic photos from the various cities and the countryside around Halabja too.
His directions to the Red House Prison, aka. the torture museum, aka. the Amna Surka is "about 5 blocks west and 2 blocks north of the main pedestrian market street."

Importantly, he says "A recent law change ensures that it is now impossible to visit Arab controlled Iraq with the Kurdish issued visa. Much to my disappointment."

Even though I understand Baghdad and many parts of southern Iraq are generally safer than they were (that is, it's less likely you will get hit by a bomb), Mosul and Kirkuk still seem quite dangerous according to news reports.

For the Spanish speakers out there, there is a blog that describes a trip to Iraqi Kurdistan. But for the non-spanish speakers, it has a ton of great photos from Kurdistan. Worth a look.

You can now find backpackiraq on twitter. Other twitters related to Kurdistan and Iraq are:

American Voices, a group doing music/arts projects in Kurdistan among other locations,

Barham Salih, the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister, taking democracy to the people via twitter,

Salam Pax, the blogger from Baghdad.

Kirkuk & Mosul not exactly safe, Erbil powers up

Turkmen political party's Kirkuk office shot up (Hurriyet)'

Suicide bomb in Kirkuk (AP, Kurdish Globe)

Bombings kill 43 in Baghdad & Kirkuk (AP, Kurdish Globe)

Mosul is still freaking dangerous too, although it is claimed that terrorist attacks have been limited. (Reuters, Soma Digest)

But in much better news for Iraqi Kurdistan, Erbil is expected to have 24/7 electricity by the end of August, thanks to a new power plant financed by the Trade Bank of Iraq. (Kurdish Globe)

Historical Amedy (aka Amadiyya, Amadiyah, Amedi) city gets a write-up, in the face of social change. (Soma Digest)

World music day rocked Suly (Soma Digest), while apparently Erbil fashion is all about bling (Telegraph).

Meanwhile, a Kurdish expat in the US argues an absurdly protectionist line against foreign investment in Iraqi Kurdistan. (Kurdish Globe - opinion)

health

According to this article from the Kurdish Globe, there has been a cholera outbreak in Suleymaniyah and Kirkuk. This is extra reason to be very careful about the water you drink and the food you eat while in Kurdistan. Be sensible.

Getting around between cities

The main form of public transport between the major cities in Iraqi Kurdistan is shared taxi. Cars are generally white and orange sedans, some large, some quite small. Some newer, some older and beat-up. The roads between cities are not very safe for driving, with usually just one lane in each direction, and over-taking a dangerous activity. I witnessed one head-on collision.

Security:

Taxis seem to only travel on roads controlled by Kurdish forces. There are LOTS of security checkpoints, probably 10 or more on a 3 hour journey, usually before and after towns. You have nothing to fear at these checkpoints, in fact you should be grateful for them keeping Iraqi Kurdistan safe from terrorists. At some the soldier will just wave the taxi through, but at most ID will be checked. Have your passport ready. At some checkpoints, they'll want to check on foreigners more carefully, and you may end up being questioned by the head official. Just be honest and open and you should be fine. But, if they're suspicious of you, it helps to have a local Kurdish contact who can vouch for you.

Details:

Generally there is a normal price for one car, and this price is divided by the number of passengers. Usually you will end up waiting until enough passengers come to fill up all the seats.

In Dohuk, the taxi offices are next to the Hotel Birjin. In Erbil, get in a local taxi and ask for the "Suly Garage" if you're going to Sulaymaniyah. In Sulaymaniyah, "Erbil Garage" etc.

Zakho border - Dohuk: $45 per car, approx 1 hour.
Zakho border - Erbil: $90 per car, approx 4 hours.

Dohuk - Erbil: 20,000 dinar ($16) per person. 80,000 dinar per car. Approx 3 hours. The road goes close to Mosul, but doesn't actually pass through. Apparently the road is controlled by Kurdish forces, but a few soldiers I saw had Iraqi flags on their shoulders...

Erbil - Sulaymaniyah: 15,000 dinar ($12) per person. 3-4 hours. The cartel at the 'Suly Garage' in Erbil were shifty guys, constantly changing prices and 'extra charges' for having a large bag. Be firm in your negotiations. The road between Erbil and Suly passes through the north-eastern suburbs of Kirkuk. I heard that this road is safe, and controlled by Kurdish forces, but the vibes weren't good. Thankfully it only took around 30 minutes to pass through Kirkuk.

Sulaymaniyah - Erbil: 15,000 dinar ($12) per person, 3-4 hours. Takes the same route as above, through Kirkuk's suburbs.

If for some reason you think travelling in a 4WD/SUV would be safer, think again. They are more likely to be targeted for attacks. I sat next to a VIP in one taxi. He said he travelled like this to stay safe.

And if you are bloody crazy you can get a taxi or even minibus from Erbil just to Kirkuk, or even Baghdad. Seriously, you would have to be a foolhardy dunce with a death wish to do this as a foreigner.