Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB

Hi all,

i've used this forum for researching many times in the past - today i've decided to create an own account because i think i may have some information about Iraqui Kurdistan which may be helpful for others.

i've been on the road for the past 3 weeks from Austria via the Balcans down to Turkey and there to the far east point. I wanted to go around Mt. Ararat as far as possible.
After that i went south to Cizre. From there - thanks to the information i found in this forum i decided to take a side-step into Iraq. My plan was to go down to Zakho, Dohuk and from there up to Sarsang, Batifa and back to Cizre. Due to limited time available it was only a one-day trip - something like an appetizer for my next trip in that area..

The border there is Ibrahim Khalil and i arrived there on Sept/17 in the morning.
leaving Turkey was not a big thing, very smooth and it took about 5 mins. The Iraqui side is a bit more difficult and tricky, but everyone is very helpful and polite. For the first time there i did not catch the system, which stamp is required where and why. A guy helped me, i just had to follow behind him from counter to counter.. the whole procedure took about 1,5 hours and the costs where 10 USD. The money had to be exchanged into local currency because customs only accepts Iraqui money (at least that's what i've encountered)

My helping guy did not ask for money, never - and he refused to take some after i asked him. I'm still not clear what happend and why because usually such things do always cost money, but not this time..

i did not had to deposit my passport which was written in another report, the only thing you need to have for the exit is a yellow form filled out and stamped by customs together with the reciept having payed the exchanged USD 10...

the road down to Zhako and further to Dohuk is excellent - similar to the roads in Turkey, traffic was moderate. When you decide to leave the main road you'll find yourself on gravel-roads very quickley. Gas stations can be found every few kilometers - no problem on that topic. i've filled my tank in Cizre (which was not that easy because on the first 5 gasstations only Diesel was available). Therefore i cannot tell you how to pay for filling up the tank. I've taken a few dollars with me (keep in mind to carry small notes..) and with them you can get everything.

People are very friendly and curious. Comming from the east part of Turkey you might be a bit used to the great hospitality from people in that area. For me it was many times embarrassing, i felt shameful seeing peeple sharing what ever the have with me, i received countless invitations for lunch or dinner. i was asking my self when i did the same, when did i asked a stranger beside the road whether he is hungry or need something...

Iraqi Kurdistan is the next level on that. i've stopped at a gas-station for buying something to drink. The counter was busy with people so i took a bottle of water from the fridge, opened it and due to the high temperatures outside i dunk it up. after that i went to the counter wanting to pay, the guy behind told me in a basic english - ".. is already payed, take anohter.."

At the next stop i've been invited for taking lunch with the family who operated the gasstation... speechless....

Unfortunately my GPS was not accurate - the maps on the BMW Nav5 are far away from beeing usefull for that area, and shame on me - i've forgotten to download an offline-map for google-maps on my cell. My paper-map only coverd the area north of Dohuk. South of Dohuk i lost orientation a bit and i was not sure whether i'm on the right way or not. Therefore i decided to go back on the same way to the border.. (ironically enough i found out later that i was on the correct way....)

The border-procedure is a bit complicated but expecially Iraqui Kurds are very helpfull and kind. After about 1.5 hours the barrier went up and i could go to the turkish side of the border. Maybe it's helpfull to say that i had to pay another 10.000 Iraqui Dinar (exchanged another USD 10 in a shop) for cusotms and i received a reciept for it. The yellow form which i've received in the morning had to be shown many times (it must be something similar to a customs-decleration for my bike because the frame-number was written there..)

The turkisch sidde is a complete different story. Be prepared to answer a lot of questions! they wanted to know why i was going into a war-zone. the asked me many times why i only spent a few hours there, what exactly i did, with whom i met and where i went...
at the end the guy at the barrier sent me back to the police-office. In a room with 5 guys i had to answer the same questions again and one guy asked for my cell-phone. he checked it for nearly 30 mins, i had to explain several pictures (not just from Iraq but also pictures i've taken years ago in other parts of the world). They took a picuture of my face toghether with my passport, i had to give them my cell-number and they called me double-checking whether it's correct or not. After nearly 45 minutes in that office i received the last stamp and the turkish barrier opened for me..

All in all it's not a problem to enter to Iraqui Kurdistan, it's absolutely worth seeing it and i'll definitely spend more time in that beautiful and special area of our planet, maybe i'll go down to Erbil. I've heard that you have to leave the country on the same border-crossing you've entered but i have not double-checked that.

I hope i could share some helpful informations which may help others here..

allways safe travels!!
Gernot