The Nearest Thing Iraq Has to a Backpacker’s Hostel: The Parlaman Hotel in Duhok

I’ve written up lots of stories from my 10 days backpacking through Northern Iraq but I have yet to cover any of my hotel stays there – I stayed in 4 different hotels in Iraqi Kurdistan. You might not know what to expect when backpacking through Iraqi Kurdistan, a region which is beautiful, but sadly…

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iraqi kurdistan backpacking

Backpacking in Iraqi Kurdistan: Top 10 Things to see and do in Sulaymaniyah

As part of my ongoing reports from backpacking in Iraqi Kurdistan I now report on my time in the city of Sulaymaniyah. After seeing the impressive mountain village of Amadiya, touring Duhok and Sulav, we headed way out east towards the Iran border, to the city of Sulaymaniyah which is astonishingly a city of over a…

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5 Most Horrific Places To Go Backpacking In

Don’t paint yourself a picture of travelling as beaches, hot sun and cocktails please. That’s not backpacking, and in all honesty it’s not reflective of travel as a whole and it’s certainly biased. You’re only seeing the good things. Yes we love the good moments, but on my travels I feel the need to explore…

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kurdistan sulaymaniyeh

Fridays Featured Food: Hotel Breakfast in Sulaymaniyeh, Kurdistan, Iraq

So you want to know what breakfast in Iraq is like?? Well my only real experience of this came in a hotel in the city of Sulaymaniyeh, which is in Iraqi Kurdistan and I’ve no idea how truly authentic this is, but here goes for you today none the less. Most hotels in the Kurdistan…

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christian church iraq

Backpacking in Ainkawa: A Christian Suburb of Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq

When you travel in the Middle East you get used to Mosques. Islam is the main religion and there are Mosques everywhere. However, Christians, Jews and Buddhists also reside in these parts of course. But a Christian Quarter in Iraq? Yes – in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, often referred to as Iraqi Kurdistan. While…

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