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Veteran overland tour
operator Geoff Hann will be running the first tour
of Iraqi Kurdistan and the Kurdish regions of Turkey
and Iran in May.
Syria is not included because Kamishili, home of the
Kurdish minority, is also the reported crossing
point for insurgents infiltrating into Iraq -
definitely unsafe for foreigners.
"There is also the time factor", Hann admits. "The
proposed trip is 20 days". He emphasised that the
first trip is very much an exploratory tour and
every effort will be made to fit in extra historical
sites and Kurdish villages. "Iraqi Kurdistan has
been little explored in the travel field and has not
been linked to ongoing destinations as we are going
to do". Flexibility is the key and arrangements for
a 14-day tour can be made by leaving from Hamedan
and Tehran".
Hann visited Iraqi Kurdistan's major tourist
attractions last year and established good relations
with hotel and tour operators in preparation for
this year's trip.He is working closely with the
London and Erbil-based Kurdistan Development
Corporation and the Kurdistan Regional Government.
Iraqi Kurdistan has always been a traditional
mountain refugee from the stifling heat of the
planes of central and southern Iraq. But during his
exploratory tour Hann detected a distinct desire of
the Kurds, to divorce themselves from their Arab
countrymen. "Arabic is no longer spoken and the
Kurds are proud of their culture and identity".
A specialist in Iraqi archaeological and cultural
tours, which he has been leading since 1971, Hann
was hoping for an Iraq winter tour this year but
admits that hope did not triumph over experience. He
is focusing on Kurdistan and looking forward to a
favourable change in the security situation in Iraq.
But a streak of realism seeps into his vocabulary of
enthusiasm and optimism. "Iraqi Kurdistan in tourism
terms has to find its place on the international
tourist map. Of course the Kurds have a special
regard for it, it's is their homeland but in the
real world of tourism it has a negative image as it
is associated with Iraq. We do not cross into the
part of Iraq that is not controlled by the Kurdistan
Regional Government as it remains unsafe".
Hann is eager to introduce tourists to
archaeological and historical sites which have not
seen foreign visitors for many years. "The Kurds
claim to be the most ancient people in the region
and the Neolithic site at Jarmo with a village
dating back to 6000BC gives credence to their
claims".
Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan and home to a
million people, is believed to be one of the world's
oldest continuously inhabited cities with many
tourist attractions. Located along an important
trade route, Erbil came under control of the great
empires of the ancient world including the
Assyrians, Persians and Alexander the Great.
The ancient citadel overlooks the hustle and bustle
of everyday life in the modern city.
Kanan Mufti, director for antiquities in the western
Kurdish region has a vision of the citadel as an
artistic enclave and historic tourist destination..
Some of the elaborate old homes are being used as
backdrops for local filmmakers and his dream is
slowly turning into reality.
Lolan Mustifa opened the Kurdish Textile Museum over
a year ago. It displays intricately designed carpets
made by local tribes in an attempt to preserve
traditional handicrafts.
"We are trying to learn from the older generations
of tribes but still it is not so clear as to how
these designs are transferred from one generation to
the next." Mustifa says his museum, which already
gets about 50 visitors a day, demonstrates real
potential. "It is a good sign for showing Kurdish
culture, art and history and the kind of stability
that they can hang around in the citadel."
There is also the amazing covered market which has
everything from fabrics and jewelery to cheese made
from sheep's milk.
The trip also takes in the shrine of Sheikh Adi with
its black stone snake and sacred writings and the
Yezidi village of Ain Safni.
Throughout Kurdistan the magnificent scenery,
sometimes wooded and watered by turbulent streams,
sometimes gaunt and bare but always dramatic and
often awesome, greets visitors. Hann's tour stops at
Gali Beg, where a waterfall tumbles 800m above sea
level.
Attractions in Iranian Kurdistan include the
marvelous ancient city of Takht e Soleiman (the
throne of Solomon), the royal Persian city of
Hamedan, the rock inscriptions at Bistoun and the
mausoleum of the Mongol Sultan at Soltaniyeh.
In Turkish Kurdistan, Dogubayazit, in the shadow of
Mr Arafat has the superb 16th-17th century Pasha
Mosque and complex. Not far away through the
mountain valleys and pastures are Lake Van and the
city of Van, the centre of the ancient, mysterious
Empire of Urartu (800 BC), a contemporary of
Assyria. Excursions follow the lake to the Seljuk
tombs and the Armenian Church.
Despite his recent love affair with Kurdistan, Hann
desperately wants to continue his Iraq tours. "I
would go tomorrow if I could", he said "but there is
no point in taking people to a place where you
cannot guarantee their safety".
Yet he remains optimistic about the future. "After
the elections the Shias, Sunnis and Kurds will come
together in some way to form a government. Once a
representative government has been formed the army
and police should be able to assume a position of
influence and deal with the problem of foreign
insurgents".
The next Iraq trip is scheduled for February-March
2007. "It is a country where five thousand years of
ancient history comes alive when you walk through
the ruins at the ancient sites. And modern history
will also come alive in visits to Saddam's palaces
and his final hiding place - a hole in the ground".
www.anotheriraq.com
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