Back to Business in Erbil

I am back in Kurdistan! And instead of 14 days old, these photos are only 4 days old...I arrived in Istanbul on the evening of the 5th and made my way to Tizianna's bf's house in Beshiktaş slightly before midnight. We chatted a bit and then went online to buy me an early morning flight to Diyarbakir for the next morning. Unfortunately, I set my cell phone to Iraq, not Turkish time and arrived at the airport before 5:00 am instead of before 6:00. It took ALL day to get to Erbil, but at least my friends made it easier (Dr. Z and Pambette were waiting in Diyarbakir and Mu at the border).

And since being back, it was right back to work with the first few nights taken up with meetings re: stuff that is Mu's business and not my business to discuss here... Pity. But I can post pictures of the night that Izzy, Pambette, A, Mu, and Dr. Z were all at my house for dinner.

Pambette, pictured with pipe cooked some lovely lamb and also made salad and yaprak (stuffed vine leaves). Mu did most of the other cooking: veggies in lemon and garlic, chi kofta and pirzola (lamb chops). I only had to deal with dessert.









And this is Izzy, showing off his strength... to an olive.














And A who brought some lovely baklava.















And finally the antithesis of the portraits - Pambette's feet.