48 hours in Iraqi Kurdistan
May 23, 2017, 12:50 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 97
48 hours in Iraqi Kurdistan
Expect a report covering the city of Erbil, the Mar Mattai monastery, the holy city of Lalish, the christian village of Alqosh and the liberated town of Bashiqa 15km East of Mosul.
Regards from Iraq
Check out my previous reports:
First trip report...an early Summer getaway to the Caucasus
Slovakia...more than just Bratislava
Daytripping...exploring Belgian cities
The unknown Balkans
Discovering the capital of Moravia
Regards from Iraq
Check out my previous reports:
First trip report...an early Summer getaway to the Caucasus
Slovakia...more than just Bratislava
Daytripping...exploring Belgian cities
The unknown Balkans
Discovering the capital of Moravia
Jul 23, 2017, 6:06 am
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 97
Iraqi Kurdistan Day 1 - Mar Mattai Monastery & Ba'ashiqa
It was time for another vacation - as usual I finished my bookings just a few days before departure due to work commitments.
I wanted to visit Iraq for a long time and it was the first time family and friends where asking 'you're going where?!'. It was quite hard to actually convince them that the Kurdish part of Iraq is rather safe. Usually sending some photos every few hours is a good way to calm them down - then they have an impression where you've been and that there's also regular life in that region.
Flight options to Erbil are convenient with offers from well known airlines such as LH, OS as well as Turkish options such as TK, KK and PC. Prices were at around 400€ for a round trip starting in Hamburg. About a week before my travel there was a good offer by AtlasGlobal for 280€ so I just had to book that one.
Flying times are relaxed as well with an early afternoon departure from Hamburg and a 4 hour layover in IST before arriving into Erbil at night.
#1 KK6094 HAM-IST, TC-ATT, Airbus A320
#2 Grabbing some dinner and Iraqi Dinars (almost impossible to get in Germany for reasonable fees but not so special at IST airport)
#3 Beautiful 35L departure with a good view of downtown Istanbul; 0,5s exposure
Immigration was easy and with a visa stamp in my passport I was finally in Iraqi Kurdistan (they do have their own visa policies). My flight arrived a bit early so my driver asked me to wait for two other guests that were arriving with Turkish Airlines half an hour later. Since the shuttle from the airport was for free no complains...
I managed to sleep for 4 hours before getting up early again the next morning to meet my driver and guide for the day, Sardar.
First stop of the day - Mar Mattai monastery East of Mosul.
The drive was quite scenic with lush meadows everywhere and beautiful blue skies paired with 30°C; a good way to start the day.
#4 View from the monastery's parking lot overlooking the so-called Niniveh plains with Mosul in the distance (the smoke is actually from there)
#5 Lots of ancient buildings have been destroyed by Daesh so I was very keen to visit this special place!
#6 Entering this epic construction in the middle of nowhere. Probably the most peaceful place I've been to (sounds paradox, I know...) with no noises around, no cars, no voices, just some birds and the wind. (...+ three USAF Black Hawks passing right above the monastery at low altitude)
#7 These villages around the monastery were under Daesh control I believe but not the monastery itself.
#8 Inside the monastery. I was the only tourist around so I felt very special having this view for myself.
#9 The monastery was founded in 363 by the hermit Mar Mattai - known as one of the oldest Christian monasteries in existence.
#10 Discovering the inside while looking for the monk named Thomas to show us around
#11 A seperated room inside the church where Mar Mattai is buried
#12 A great place to cool down from the summer heat
#13
#14 Rev. Thomas
#15 The original way up before the street was built - hard to imagine climbing up to the top of Mount Alfaf in Iraqi's Summer heat...
#16
#17 Not many churches left in Iraq these days
#18
Next stop: Ba'ashiqa around 15km East of Mosul
#19 Driving towards Mosul
#20 Just outside the town
#21 Hard work
#22 Daesh fighters destroyed lots of important roads with IEDs to slow down Kurdish and Iraqi troops
#23 Peshmerga fighters stopping for lunch at the local market of Ba'ashiqa
#24 The town is known for its olives and pickles; they were delicious and tasted much different than the ones you get in Europe (which are mainly from Spain, Italy and Greece)
Then the interesting part began, while driving into the town you're only allowed to drive up to the first check point without further permission. But thanks to my guide's excellent connections we were granted access with no issues. While waiting for the needed call we were invited for lunch. This checkpoint is a shared Kurdish/Iraqi one which is not so common. I was told that all of the soldiers are from the area but some are paid by the government in Erbil while others receive their money from Baghdad. It's supposed to remind the locals that this is Iraq after all with Baghdad being the only capital.
#25 Our hosts and my guide Sardar
#26 After thanking our new friends for the delicious lunch and wishing them all the best we were inside downtown which is mostly deserted now
#27 While stopping for a photo we were approached by this guy who was very keen to present us a cross tattoed on his arm. There aren't many Christians in Iraq left these days but in this area there still are some towns - with Ba'ashiqa being one of them.
#28 I was told to stay away from rubble due to the possibility of remaining IEDs
#29 On the way out of town heading to the holy city of Lalish
More to follow!
I wanted to visit Iraq for a long time and it was the first time family and friends where asking 'you're going where?!'. It was quite hard to actually convince them that the Kurdish part of Iraq is rather safe. Usually sending some photos every few hours is a good way to calm them down - then they have an impression where you've been and that there's also regular life in that region.
Flight options to Erbil are convenient with offers from well known airlines such as LH, OS as well as Turkish options such as TK, KK and PC. Prices were at around 400€ for a round trip starting in Hamburg. About a week before my travel there was a good offer by AtlasGlobal for 280€ so I just had to book that one.
Flying times are relaxed as well with an early afternoon departure from Hamburg and a 4 hour layover in IST before arriving into Erbil at night.
#1 KK6094 HAM-IST, TC-ATT, Airbus A320
#2 Grabbing some dinner and Iraqi Dinars (almost impossible to get in Germany for reasonable fees but not so special at IST airport)
#3 Beautiful 35L departure with a good view of downtown Istanbul; 0,5s exposure
Immigration was easy and with a visa stamp in my passport I was finally in Iraqi Kurdistan (they do have their own visa policies). My flight arrived a bit early so my driver asked me to wait for two other guests that were arriving with Turkish Airlines half an hour later. Since the shuttle from the airport was for free no complains...
I managed to sleep for 4 hours before getting up early again the next morning to meet my driver and guide for the day, Sardar.
First stop of the day - Mar Mattai monastery East of Mosul.
The drive was quite scenic with lush meadows everywhere and beautiful blue skies paired with 30°C; a good way to start the day.
#4 View from the monastery's parking lot overlooking the so-called Niniveh plains with Mosul in the distance (the smoke is actually from there)
#5 Lots of ancient buildings have been destroyed by Daesh so I was very keen to visit this special place!
#6 Entering this epic construction in the middle of nowhere. Probably the most peaceful place I've been to (sounds paradox, I know...) with no noises around, no cars, no voices, just some birds and the wind. (...+ three USAF Black Hawks passing right above the monastery at low altitude)
#7 These villages around the monastery were under Daesh control I believe but not the monastery itself.
#8 Inside the monastery. I was the only tourist around so I felt very special having this view for myself.
#9 The monastery was founded in 363 by the hermit Mar Mattai - known as one of the oldest Christian monasteries in existence.
#10 Discovering the inside while looking for the monk named Thomas to show us around
#11 A seperated room inside the church where Mar Mattai is buried
#12 A great place to cool down from the summer heat
#13
#14 Rev. Thomas
#15 The original way up before the street was built - hard to imagine climbing up to the top of Mount Alfaf in Iraqi's Summer heat...
#16
#17 Not many churches left in Iraq these days
#18
Next stop: Ba'ashiqa around 15km East of Mosul
#19 Driving towards Mosul
#20 Just outside the town
#21 Hard work
#22 Daesh fighters destroyed lots of important roads with IEDs to slow down Kurdish and Iraqi troops
#23 Peshmerga fighters stopping for lunch at the local market of Ba'ashiqa
#24 The town is known for its olives and pickles; they were delicious and tasted much different than the ones you get in Europe (which are mainly from Spain, Italy and Greece)
Then the interesting part began, while driving into the town you're only allowed to drive up to the first check point without further permission. But thanks to my guide's excellent connections we were granted access with no issues. While waiting for the needed call we were invited for lunch. This checkpoint is a shared Kurdish/Iraqi one which is not so common. I was told that all of the soldiers are from the area but some are paid by the government in Erbil while others receive their money from Baghdad. It's supposed to remind the locals that this is Iraq after all with Baghdad being the only capital.
#25 Our hosts and my guide Sardar
#26 After thanking our new friends for the delicious lunch and wishing them all the best we were inside downtown which is mostly deserted now
#27 While stopping for a photo we were approached by this guy who was very keen to present us a cross tattoed on his arm. There aren't many Christians in Iraq left these days but in this area there still are some towns - with Ba'ashiqa being one of them.
#28 I was told to stay away from rubble due to the possibility of remaining IEDs
#29 On the way out of town heading to the holy city of Lalish
More to follow!
Last edited by MA330; Jul 23, 2017 at 7:40 am
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Jul 24, 2017, 11:15 am
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 97
Thanks for the kind words!
I stayed at the Erbil View Hotel which is excellent and costs just 60USD per night (incl breakfast). It's less of fortress compared to the Rotana but since none of the very important guys stay in it it's somewhat less of a target. Everyday-life is pretty cheap, probably half as much as in Europe?! Iraqi Kurdistan is one of the few places where you can get a feeling of the real middle east without having to fear for your life!
I stayed at the Erbil View Hotel which is excellent and costs just 60USD per night (incl breakfast). It's less of fortress compared to the Rotana but since none of the very important guys stay in it it's somewhat less of a target. Everyday-life is pretty cheap, probably half as much as in Europe?! Iraqi Kurdistan is one of the few places where you can get a feeling of the real middle east without having to fear for your life!
