Iraq
In April 2010 I visited the semi-independent northern part of Iraq known locally as Kurdistan. As part of a group of ham radio operators demonstrating radio technology to the Kurdistan Regional Government, we toured Erbil, the city that the Kurds regard as their capital. We walked around openly, freely and in no danger. The local people smiled and often shook our hands when they learned we were American. It was a surreal feeling knowing that bombs were still exploding daily in Baghdad, less than 200 miles away...
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Landing at Erbil International Airport.
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The amazing Khanzad Hotel served as our home base for 10 days. Its unique architecture was certainly an eye catcher, though it was a little rough around the edges (no water in the pool, very tiny rooms). Still, for a hotel located in what many people still consider an active war zone, the luxury was a very pleasant surprise. I am still missing the sumptuous buffets.
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One of my first impressions of our hotel, since these signs were all over the front entryway.
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There are over 50 checkpoints between Baghdad and Erbil. Thankfully just this one from our hotel to the Erbil city center.
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Erbil's breathtaking Grand Mosque.
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From my preconceived images of Iraq, I half expected the place to be dominated by the drab color of sand. It didn't take long for me to happily see that I was wrong. Color was everywhere, from the decorative paint job of a city mosque to the colorful garments the local women.
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Despite its relative safety, there were still hints of heightened security in Erbil. Below, the Erbil International Hotel sits behind a barricade of blast walls. This hotel was the site of a suicide bombing several years ago and was clearly not allowing any chances of a repeat. One of the hotel's private security guards, pictured below, also sports some heavy armor.
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Ancient Erbil's massive castle and citadel, built upon layers of past civilizations going back nearly 6,000 years. Living history abounds in one of the oldest continuously-inhabited places on earth.
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Looking down from the top of the Citadel to the city below. Beautiful! Fountains gurgling. People walking, driving, chatting, eating. It could be a city anywhere in the world. Before my trip, I already knew our TV coverage of Iraq presented a very distorted picture of what life was like there, but I have to confess that scenes of normalcy such as this were definitely not what I was expecting from a visit to Iraq.
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Saddam Hussein's ugly mug saddles up next to Madeleine Albright's equally frightful visage. Since I can't read Arabic, I shall assume these books are categorized by the utter lack of attractiveness and appeal of the person depicted on the cover.
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Erbil also has a thriving market district. Tons of streets packed with people. We were able to walk around safely in the open. People would stare of course (we were the only foreigners there), but not in a hostile way. There were a lot of smiles and handshakes...
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A hopeful peace monument lights up this downtown street as the sun sets.
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While I thought the local custom of the restaurant bill arriving in a small treasure chest was a nice touch, the size of the bill couldn't help but remind me that we weren't the ones getting rich off of this transaction.
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Leaving Iraq the same way we came in, by air. Here is the control tower at Erbil International Airport with an Iraqi Airways jet in the foreground. Airport security personnel would not let us take any pictures of the airport grounds at all; this shot was only possible as our plane was headed toward the runway for takeoff.
