Cycling around the world - Kurdistan/Iraq Part 1

My time in Iraq was definitely the 4 craziest weeks of my life. In my first post you will learn more about my arrival in Iraq. I tell the story of a evening with soome alcohol, you will learn more about Ultimate Frisbee with the Yazidis and their sanctuary. You will also learn how a night at the military checkpoint came about and a momentous evening follows…

Arrival in Kurdistan/Iraq

I am first greeted very friendly by the border guards at the Turkish-Iraqi border. On the Turkish side, I was dismissed with a “terrorist” and a hand signal in the direction of Iraq. You couldn’t be more wrong…

After paying the visa fees, I can cross the border without any problems. A German-speaking Kurd helps me. The only thing that causes some confusion is that he translates the visa fees into fines. I make a short stopover at the car registration office. There they don’t know what to do with a bike. After a few phone calls, I can pass even without car insurance. After about 30 minutes, I’m in Kurdistan. At this point I have no idea that the 4 craziest weeks of my life are ahead of me…

The start to Iraq begins with heavy traffic before I reach Zakho. There I stop briefly at the sight of the city: the Pira Delal Bridge, which is well worth seeing. Then I continue through heavy traffic towards Duhok.

Pira Delal Bridge Zakho

Getting kicked out by the Peshmerga

With food and water from the locals, I don’t have too much problems to reach Duhok. Benni is waiting for me there. The German works for an aid organization here and works with Yazidi refugees. The Yazidis are a minority in Iraq. It is a monotheistic religion with no scripture. The knowledge is handed down from generation to generation. In Kurdistan they have found a safe home, even if life in refugee camps is not exactly comfortable. As a distraction, a group plays Ultimate Frisbee once a week with Benni and his Yazidi translator and trainer Jamal. It makes me happy to see how much fun the boys and girls are having. In fact, they play so well that there is a chance that they might later be able to play in international tournaments. This also gives them perspective. An interesting insight into the life of the Yezidi refugees.

Ultimate Frisbee with Yazidi Refugees

Ultimate Frisbee with Yazidi Refugees

From Duhok I continue on my way to Alqosh. I don’t see much today though. The wind has thrown up a lot of dust and the landscape today looks post-apocalyptic. The town of Alqosh is a Christian town with churches and monasteries. A beautiful monastery is beautifully situated on the slope with a great view. Everything is hazy today. Actually I would like to camp near the city and hope for better weather, but unfortunately that doesn’t work out. In the evening the peshmerga militia come and make it clear to me politely but firmly that I cannot stay here. After they drop me off the city, I continue on my way…

my visit at the Yazidis

My next port of call is the town of Lalish. The place is the highest sanctuary of the Yazidis and a kind of place of pilgrimage. Today many Yazidis have come to the monastery on the mountain. Many have a picnic and some rituals are also held. By the way, the temples are beautiful and the place in the mountains is definitely worth seeing. I cause a little excitement when I want to enter a holy place wrong foot first. Incidentally, there are also many Yazidis here who live or have lived in Germany. So I am addressed several times in German and take a few selfies. After that I continued on my way. Incidentally, in the first few days in Iran, problems with my bike started again. My crank creaks again with every step. I won’t be far from Lalish that evening either. As night falls, arrive at a military checkpoint. Actually I want to ask if I can camp there. But the head of a family clan forestalls me, who invites me to the nearby farm for an iftar meal, the traditional breaking of the fast. And since it’s already dark, I’m allowed to sleep in the small mud house with the other family members.

Lalish

Lalish

The next day my problems continued. After several kilometers my crank comes loose. First of all, I fix this temporarily. Later I get a suitable Allen key in a small town. But this fixation is only temporary. I didn’t get very far today. After about 50 kilometers it gets dark.

About beer cans and wiskhey bottles in Iraq

I look around. Next to me is a bottle of whiskey, in front of me are several cans of beer. It’s 2 a.m. and I still have a plate of rice in my hand.

Am I really in Iraq right now?

Is it really Ramadan?

So from the beginning:

When I put something on in sarsang and think about where I can spend the night, Mohannet invites me to his cafe. The 21-year-old man has had the cafe for about a year. Word quickly got around there about the guest from Germany. And so begins an interesting evening. Since my hair has grown properly since I started in Germany, a visit to the hairdresser is due first. After that, Dan shows up at the cafe. The Iraqi is currently visiting home from the USA, where he has lived for 23 years. Along with some others we are also discussing the problem with my bike. In the course of the evening, Mohannet also offers me to stay the night in the cafe, which I happily accept. But it doesn’t come to that in the end. Because after Dan says goodbye, he reappears soon after and invites me to his Christian village nearby. And so begins a boozy evening in the village community hall. Because as Christians, the boys have no problem drinking alcohol. And so that evening one can of beer after the other is beheaded and liqueurs also finds its way into our stomachs. And don’t forget the accompanying snack of rice and chicken at 2 a.m. Then it’s off to bed pretty drunk. I didn’t expect to see such a drinking spree in Iraq.

A lot of alcohol in Iraq

end of work at a military checkpoint

I wake up the next morning with a slightly heavy head and accompany my hosts to the Palm Sunday service. After that I even manage to solve the problem with my bike for the foreseeable future in a car repair shop. Through the beautiful landscape I reach the place … This is beautifully situated on a plateau with a great view of the surrounding mountains. Not only the view of the mountains is interesting, the old city gate is also impressive. However, the city can no longer expand because the location limits expansion. From here it goes on a few meters in altitude through the mountains. The final ascent in particular is tough today. The road winds steeply into the mountains. So I’m happy when I reach the summit, where I’m fed and allowed to stay overnight at the local military checkpoint. So I can enjoy the fantastic descent the next day in great sunshine.

Dinner at the military checkpoint

Shortly afterwards I reach Akre. Another great hillside town with a great old town, the remains of an old fortress in the mountains and a waterfall too. The city is definitely worth a visit. We end the evening in a cafe with the Champions League. When I set out to pitch my tent, I was once again approached and invited. But I can’t really relax. Because there, all relatives in Germany and England who want to get to know the guest from Germany are first called. Late in the evening my eyes close.

Akre

Spring in Kurdistan

a fateful evening

After I’ve had a good night’s sleep, I can continue the next day. I can watch the sunset on a great climb with many switchbacks. At night I reach the place Khalifan. There I look around and discover two boys sitting by the fire and smoking shisha. So I ask if I can sit down. And so begins a fateful evening…

Sunset in Kurdistan