Iraqi Kurdistan - First Impressions

07 JUN 2009
Arif, Lazgin and I flew together on the Austrian Airlines flight to Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan. I really felt genuinely excited, and surprisingly (at least to me personally), I wasn’t the slightest bit nervous. Exiting the plane in Erbil, a friend of Arif’s from airport security was waiting for us with a flashy bus with tinted windows. We were taken to the VIP side of the airport, where our temperatures were taken to check for swine flu, and we were ushered quickly through passport control and into a very posh lounge. Apparently, normal procedure prohibits vehicles from driving up to the airport, so usually you have to take a special airport bus to the waiting cars, far from the terminal. It wasn’t a great shock to figure out that Arif’s friends had their bright white Toyota Land Cruisers waiting right outside the door. The not-so-standard procedure that Arif always follows involves a leisurely stop at the office of the head of airport security for a cup of tea.

I felt immediately comfortable in these surroundings, not just because of the special treatment my friend had arranged, but because everyone was very eager to welcome me to Kurdistan, and the laid-back-drink-some-tea-ten-minutes-means-two-hours culture was right up my alley. Laying here at 2:30AM in a fortress like hotel that doubles as the British consulate, I have really seen very little of Kurdistan or even Erbil, but I’m very content and really like the place. I met for juice and arguileh with some of the guys in the early evening, and then a large group of us went out to the beautiful restaurant Marina in the Christian district of the city. The food was great, the live music was moving (they even played my favorite Iraqi song, Khuttar), and the company couldn’t have been better. On the way into the restaurant, though, everyone had to pass through a security check including a metal detector. Funny thing about it, they started to search my camera bag, but Saad told the guard, “he’s American, he won’t blow himself up,” and I was sent on through. We did note, however, that the metal detector wasn’t on, and they didn’t search any of the other guys because they didn’t have bags - we’ll give the security team a D+ for putting on a good show.

Driving at high speeds along the European highways suddenly pales in comparison to flying 100mph down the seemingly endless straight roads of Erbil in a Toyota Land Cruiser, the windows of which are tented so much that it is practically impossible to see outside in the dark, slowing down only to gently hop over the occasional speed bump. Tomorrow, the real exploring begins.

Austrian Airlines Premium Class Meal: Assorted appetizer plate including Hummous, Moutabel, roasted vegetables and fresh bread, Prawns in a creamy parmesan tomato sauce served with buttered rice and sauteed spinach, assorted Arab sweets and hot tea for dessert.