Last night's posting delayed - part 1

Flight TTH31
Sometime around 7:00pm this evening, the plane left Turkey and entered Kurdish airspace, previously a no-fly zone. It was spooky as the horizon to both sides of the plane appeared to be obscured by a hazy grey opaque almost oily looking blanket with only a think line of orange above separating it from the darkening sky. The land visible between breaks in the clouds was dark also, geometric shapes in black and brown. The sky grew black before we landed and it seemed the plane circled forever over land that appeared not to be properly lit (this is definately not HK), but looked like a pattern for a kilim carpet outlined in glitter. “Welcome, welcome… Meezan-ah,” gushed the customs official as he examined my passport. A friendly face in contrast with the ominus feeling that had been gathering in the pit of my stomach.

We struggled to lift and shift our luggage – I alone had about 60 kgs (and $300 US in excess baggage fees just from Istanbul) – and took a shuttle out to the main gate. For security reasons, only travelers can enter the main area. The shuttle took us out past a box-shaped restaurant in front of which were clusters and lines of mournful looking women in burkas seated and still on the ground. A fellow traveler surmised they were refugees, but was informed instead that they were Arabs from the south on their way to Mecca. Next plane to Saudi not till tomorrow.

City Motel: My New Home
Seems for the next 3 months I will live on this compound… little bungalows that are part of a ‘motel’. My main room has about 4 clashing shades of green, a TV and a kitchenette with fridge and 2 gas burners. My bathroom has a sink with a wobbly faucet, shower, toilet, and my bedroom has an ironing board and iron, wardrobe, dresser and twin beds. I was informed that the pastime of most of the inhabitants at the compound is sleeping as there isn’t much else to do.