When 2013 came into view I was sat on a beach in the Philippines having a beer watching the fireworks. Way back then, I had no idea that my crazy ride for 2013 would take me through places like Ethiopia, North Korea, Palestine, Iran and Nagorno Karabakh. But it did. And then we ended up Read more about New Year’s Eve in Iraq! Celebrating in Erbil, Kurdistan[…]
As far as world borders goes, crossing this one was less hassle than you could imagine. We headed across the border from Sheik Hussein Bridge in Jordan into the Israeli side to the border point near Beit She’an. In essence the border itself is just a bridge (the one photographed). However there’s a bit of Read more about World Borders: How to Get From Jordan to Israel on the Sheik Hussein Bridge[…]
Duhok/Dohuk in Kurdistan in Iraq is an odd kind of town. You’ve never been in one like it before and you’ll never be in one like it again. In fact, the nearest comparison I can make to Dohuk is with a town called Vank in Nagorno Karabakh. Basically Dohuk wants to be cool. It really Read more about 10 Things to see and do in Duhok, Kurdistan, Iraq[…]
As far as world borders go, this one from Iran to Turkey overland is one of the fastest and easiest believe it or not. In fact, I was a bit surprised by the simplicity of it. If you’re heading overland from Gurbulak to Bazargan, here’s a guide on how to get from Turkey to Iran. Read more about World Borders: How to get from Turkey to Iran (Gurbulak to Bazargan)[…]
Turkey wasn’t on the initial agenda when we went backpacking in the Middle East and surrounding countries, but we ended up spending a whopping 3 weeks in Turkey in the end, compared with our 10 days in each of Armenia and Azerbaijan! This gave me a chance to sample the delights of Adana, Istanbul, Dogubayazit, Read more about Friday’s Featured Food: Fish Sandwich in Istanbul, Turkey[…]
OK get ready for this one please. It’s fresh from my backpacking adventures in Iraq. I’ll warn you that this story isn’t for the faint hearted. I’m guessing that if you’re reading, you might have an idea who Saddam Hussein is. Yes, he was the leader of the Ba’ ath party in Iraq from 1979 Read more about Saddam Hussein’s House of Horrors: My Trip to Amna Suraka Red Security Complex, Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, Iraq[…]
Staying in the town of Wadi Musa had me dreaming myself back about 3 years to my time in Bolivia’s La Paz. This city in Jordan is built on hills, offers rectangular boxed shaped brick lego style houses deep into mountains and bears that “brown sugar” colouring. The similarity to La Paz was uncanny as Read more about Things to do While Staying in Wadi Musa, Jordan[…]
This is a short Friday’s Featured Food today and it’s topical as it also comes from Iraq, where you might have heard I’ve been backpacking in since New Year’s Eve. When you wander the markets, bazaars and streets of Iraqi Kurdistan, you will notice how many different types of ready to eat food there are. Read more about Friday’s Featured Food: Creamy Cake Dessert in Duhok, Kurdistan, Iraq[…]