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And the Dream City is only one massive construction
site among hundreds. Reconstruction in Iraqi
Kurdistan is absolutely explosive. These photos are
only a miniscule sample of what’s going up right now
as you read this.
It goes without saying that none of this was
possible when Saddam Hussein did everything he
could, with the fourth largest army in the world, to
destroy these people. Even though Kurdistan has been
free of Saddam since the Kurdish uprising drove out
him and the Baath in 1991, real reconstruction
wasn’t possible until 2003. When the embargo was
lifted, and when everyone knew that the bastard
could never come back, the Kurds finally had the
nerve to build their dream country in earnest.
“This is Your Country”
ERBIL, Kurdistan-Iraq, - Iraqi Kurdistan has
an official tourism board, but that doesn’t mean the
region gets many actual tourists. Despite the fact
that it’s by far the safest and (almost certainly)
the most pleasant place to visit in Iraq, it has a
long way to go before it becomes a holiday
destination.
Travelers (rather than “tourists”) who don’t like
running into other travelers, who yearn to be “off
the map,” and who would rather learn about the world
than take a break from it, might appreciate
Kurdistan, though, as long as they don’t expect too
much modernity or too many Western amenities.
Entertainment culture doesn’t really exist there
yet. Don’t go and expect to have fun. Egypt, for
example, is far more grim and depressing than
Kurdistan, but it’s easier to have a good time if
that’s what you’re looking for. Guatemala is much
poorer and more dangerous and more politically
dysfunctional, but it’s still a better place to go
as a typical tourist if you want good food, hotels,
and attractions.
I don’t mean to criticize when I say this. The Kurds
have been through decades of fascism, genocide, and
war. They suffered more than any other group of
Iraqis. Northern Iraq endured more recent hardship
than any other place I have ever been in my life.
Scratch just beneath the happy veneer of Iraqi
Kurdish adults and you’ll find people with family
members murdered by Baathists, who experienced
unimaginable oppression by a regime that wanted to
completely erase them, and who fled to the mountains
during the uprising in 1991 when the cities of Iraqi
Kurdistan were emptied of people. They still have no
sewage system, and they still only have a few hours
of electricity each day. Having a good time just
isn’t a priority for them right now.
But they do what they can with what they have. I
went to a Turkish restaurant for dinner after sunset
on the outskirts of Erbil on the way to the
Christian suburb of Ainkawa. The entire neighborhood
was dark. Not even a street light was on. The place
had an eerie end of the world feeling to it. When I
stepped into the restaurant, doubting it would even
be open, a sharply dressed waiter led me upstairs to
a room full of tables lit by candlelight. The
restaurant was half full even in the dark, and the
kitchen was serving hot food. Each table was draped
in a white tablecloth. European-style mouldings
framed the windows and the tops of the walls.
Beautiful chandeliers hung from the ceilings. The
place had class even in darkness. The waiters all
spoke Turkish amongst themselves. They were Turkmen
– in other words, Iraqi Turks who speak a slightly
different dialect of Turkish than is spoken in
Turkey. Dinner was amazingly good, much better than
anything I expected to eat in Iraq. The food tasted
all the better because it seemed so unlikely in a
place that didn’t even have any light.
It’s impossible not to admire these people. Their
attitude is go-go-go, build-build-build. They won’t
let a little thing like a permanent power outage get
in their way. They are the last people in the world
anyone dare call lazy or apathetic.
Getting to know the people is the best reason to
travel to Kurdistan, actually. Every Middle Eastern
country I’ve been to has a tradition of hospitality
that can’t be overstated. But the Kurds are even
warmer than usual. Several Iraqi Kurds said “This is
your country” when they first met me. How could I
not love people who greet me this way? Especially
when I know very well that it isn’t a polite (and
culturally compulsory) cover for quiet
anti-Americanism.
Iraqi Kurdistan is more pro-American than America.
People there refer to George W. Bush as “Hajji Bush”
(meaning he made the Muslim pilgrimage, the hajj, to
Mecca), an incredibly high honor for a Christian
from Texas whom most people hate. Bill Clinton may
have been America’s first “black” president. But
people in at least one part of the world say Bush is
the first “Muslim” president. Weird and amazing, but
true.
Thomas Friedman once described Poland as “a
geopolitical spa,” a great place to visit if you’re
tired of reactionary anti-Americanism. Iraqi
Kurdistan may be a better “spa” than even Poland.
Before I went to Iraqi Kurdistan I asked a friend of
mine who has been there about politics, economics,
and security in the region. She thought my questions
were a bit strange and not what she expected. She
said that, for her, Kurdistan is a place to connect
to through the heart. I first thought her response
was “girlie.” I don’t so much anymore
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