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Iraq
may not be a likely destination for international
tourists for a little while yet, but in the past few
months tens of thousands of Iraqis have made their
way to its northern provinces in search of a
relaxing break.
As the British head to Spain to find sun, and young
Americans to Mexico for legal alcohol, Iraqis drive
north to Kurdistan lured by a selling point that
rarely appears in Western holiday brochures: the
opportunity not to get shot.
In a country where there is an average of 80
shootings, bombings and mortar attacks every day,
the four northern Kurdish provinces have been a
haven of relative calm since the fall of Saddam
Hussein.
One of the most popular destinations is Lake Dukan,
a giant reservoir in the mountains of Sulaimaniyah
province where altitude also provides respite from
the summer's stultifying heat. Yesterday nearly
every hotel room had been booked weeks in advance.
On the surrounding roads families picnicked, while
at the lake's edge a procession of cars drove up
throughout the afternoon to unload their cargoes of
over-excited children.
The males and young stripped down to their underwear
to jump in and start splashing each other. The women
sat preparing food.
"I can not put into words what I feel to be here,"
said Bekal Shakir, 20, as she cradled her newborn
daughter. "It is wonderful - quiet and full of
water. At home I feel myself to be in prison. I am
always stressed and can often lose my temper. So
many tragic things happen. But here I feel a
different person, I feel happy."
There are no government figures for how many
tourists have visited Kurdistan this summer, but
tourism officials believe numbers have increased by
25 per cent.
The Kurdish government has approved 50 new hotels
and ordered the printing of guidebooks in Arabic,
English and Kurdish.
There is even hope that the recent opening of
Irbil's airport may encourage foreigners to come.
Weekly flights are already landing from Istanbul,
Amman and Damascus.
By Iraqi standards Kurdistan is considered safe as
security is provided by its 60,000 peshmerga
militiamen. Governmental institutions are also well
developed as the region has enjoyed de facto
autonomy since the end of the 1991 Gulf war.
But it is not without its dangers. In May, 45 people
died and 150 were wounded when a suicide bomber
struck at a building filled with police recruits.
www.telegraph.co.uk
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