TR: Iraqi Kurdistan

[*alli*]

The Kurdish north may as well be an entirely separate country from the rest of Iraq, especially the north west. I've lived in Beirut and Amman. Please, before you call people an idiot, at least know what you're talking about. The Kurds are very friendly and sympathetic towards westerners, probably as much as any other region in the middle east. There is violence in the mountains along the Turkish border but otherwise it's a safe area by middle eastern standards. The danger in traveling in the middle east (besides obvious war zones) is there are many areas where a large percentage of the local population is not at all fond of westerners, Kurdistan is not one of those places. Being a white blond woman traveling alone can present a whole host of problems in the middle east, but from her photos she appears to be traveling with one or more men, which makes all of those problems disappear. It's a great trip, one most people would never take, but to say she should write a book is idiotic. There are westerners who've spent years if not decades living in countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc. who write books no one reads.

You have to love TGR, arguments break out over absolutely anything. You're comletely right that Kurdistan may as well be a seperate country, never once did I feel even the slightest bit uncomfortable But for most of this trip I am travelling on my own. I spent four days in Kurdistan with another Canadian guy I met up with the day we left for Iraq, other than that I've been on my own. The hassle I get can get really annoying, even wearing long baggy pants and a long sleeved shirt. But like someone pointed out, Im a 23 year old, blonde white woman with green eyes travelling on my own, I have to expect a certain amount of attention. Having said that, there are always more people who are friendly, kind, generous, and really genuinely good people than there are men asking me for sex, trying to grab my ass or just muttering and hissing things at me as I walk past. But I've never felt unsafe and as bad as it gets even the worst of it isn't as bad as in west africa, now that was bad.

Yes, there are westerners who've spent years living in the middle east, I grew up in Saudi Arabia, I was one of them. There are tons of people who write books about really incredible experiences that no one reads, and there are people who write books about going to Europe that a lot of people do read. (And no, I have no intention of writing a book, just posting a blog to keep family and friends who are interested updated.)

[Mazderati]

Haters gonna hate. Awesome TR.

Did you have any kind of plan set up in advance, or did you just make it a goal to get to certain cities and wing it from there?

[Jumper Bones]

Thank you for taking the time to post all this.

I imagine growing up in Saudi must have some stories too...