Byblos to Tripoli - March 20

Seeing as Byblos was just the most fabulous city with the most comfortable hotel (aptly named Comfort Hotel) of our stay, it doesn't really seem fair that it has to share this post with Trpoli, but that's the time frame of our visit. After driving for hours through tiny winding roads taking us up and around and over mountains trying to get to Baalbek (on the east coast of Lebanon) from Tyre, we were finally turned away by soldiers at a checkpoint... apparently we had ventured too far over towards "Palestine" and too deep into areas controlled by the Hezbollah and we had to head back to Beirut... so rather than keep trying, we just continued up along the western coast to Byblos (about 90 minutes from Beirut). We ate and slept and saw Byblos the next morning.

The above photos show the site at Byblos... also known as Gebal and Jbeil. (PS. You might be interested to know that we noticed a sign in the Erbil airport announcing the opening of Byblos Bank on the 60 Meter Road right here in Hawler!). These sights were very interesting to note that they had found evidence of city-living here dating back to the Bronze and Iron ages, the Hellenistic period, not to mention Byzantine and Roman empire remains, evidence of Egyptian and Phoenician trade and influence, the arrival of the Crusaders, the Persians and others... and all of this was very clearly signposted in English, French and Arabic by.... the Governate of Antiquities of QUEBEC!
And there are so many other photos I'd like to include here... like the picture of construction on a main street through the Bazaar, which appeared to be dug up for city waterworks... a project that was clearly on hold as the workers apparently accidentally unearthed Byzantine (I guess) mosaic flooring. But instead I leave you with the image of a sunset over the harbour... where we later (days later) stopped to have a nice fish dinner at a restaurant with a view and very surly wait staff.
After viewing the sites of Byblos in the rain, we hit the road again to our last coastal and most northerly destination, Tripoli. This proved to be a bit of a disappointment. Although apparently one a beautiful city (which vied with Sidon for the production and export of soap), the buildings all scaling the sides of a small mountain, are now weathered and ugly... even the recently constructed ones. The city streets were narrow and hard to navigate, so we finally settled on a 4 star (the one of this caliber on our trip) hotel down by the water and taxied in to the city to see the "sights". Below is my trusty colleagues standing at the entrance to a medieval souk where we bought (what else?) soap!
And this final picture was the highlight of Tripoli... a beautiful crusader castle later used by the Ottomans. Soldiers still appeared to be using this well-preserved castle and although the sight of the city down the side of the hills wasn't so lovely, overhead flocks of birds adorned with tiny bells swooped overhead, following the instructions of their owners who seemed to be whistling and cooing instructions to the bids from their high-rise apartment windows.

Tyre (Sour or Sur) and onwards - March 19th

At the end of the first day of driving, we reached another Phoenician city at the Southern-most tip of Lebanon. It was apparently once an island connected by a causeway (built by Alexander the Great?) and was famous as the Tyrian merchants (the first to navigate the Mediterranean) made famous the purple dye of the nobility - Tyrian purple.
After arriving, we settled into our hotel in the Christian quarter in Christian quarter and walked along the cornich and viewed the archaeological sites... the last one reached just before sundown (pictured below). As you walk down the long road, it is entirely possible to imagine Roman visitors driving chariots down this road... all the stones still in place, with aquaducts and evidence of real city planning! The two photos below show the Al Mina archaeological site - the first one we encountered on our stroll of the cornich - this one with a public bath, a Roman theater, palace site and another road lined with imposing columns.

These final two photos show the harbour... just a couple of minutes from our hotel. This was the view from the restaurant "Le Phoenician" where we enjoyed garlic basted prawns, calamari, little achovy-sized crispy fish, fatoush salad and wine from the Bekkha Valley in Lebanon.

How hard it is going to be returning to land-locked Kurdistan?

Sidon (Saida) - March 18th

On March 18th, we got up early and headed for the car rental office to pick up the little VW Polo which was to serve us well for the next 7 days.
We immediately headed for the water and followed the coast South until we hit Sidon (or Saida as it is called in Lebanon), one of the most important Phoenician cities. But like other Lebanese cities, the Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans also resided (ruled) here. Wikipedia says that Herod the Great, Jesus and Saint Paul visited Sidon. The city was eventually conquered by the Arabs and then by the Ottoman Turks.
For me, I found the winding souks and craftsmen working in tiny shops to be much like Mardin in North Kurdistan (East Turkey). Our first stop (after the bathroom), was the Soap Museum (photo above). Apparently, the Aud family in Sidon had to compete with soap companies in Tripoli (in the North of Lebanon) and Damascus to sell their slippery wares to Europe and beyond. We must have made a funny sight in Sidon, me following closely on the heels of two Western guys all the while tightly grasping the handle of a menacing looking wooden rolling pin I bought in the bazaar.
The next three photos are of the Sea Castle (there was apparently also a land castle, but there is now little left of that one worth visiting). The Castle was built by the Crusaders in the 13th century.



This last picture just shows J, who manned the wheel of our VW vehicle for our whole journey. In the background you can see part of the port, cranes and a small boat.... It seems the name "Sidon" actually means fishery!

Beautiful Beirut - March 17th

On the first day of our little break, we 3 teachers from Kurdistan set out to explore the city of Beirut. We started out on the corniche and walked along the edge of the Mediterranean to the downtown core. One of the things that first struck my attention was how beautifully archaeological discoveries had been incorporated into the design of the modern city. The first two pictures below show the remains of a Roman bath which line both sides of a staircase leading to another commercial street, but are surrounded with walkways with trees and benches for people to sit and enjoy the view.

And the photo below, while is of more ruins sort of opposite from the Virgin Megastore. Yes, this was one of the first stops; a chance to buy NON-PIRATED DVDs and newly released novels in English (although there is an even larger selection in French).
Although some denigrate the reconstruction of Beirut as a kind of poor-quality facelift, for us coming from Erbil, it was pretty impressive. Like in Erbil, you could pass by areas with clusters of giraffe-like cranes stretching their necks out in every direction... but unlike Erbil, there was no evidence of abandoned construction sites and buildings in early states of construction did not already look ready to fall as in some parts of Asia.
In the picture above, Dirk has just come to the end of a street lined on both sides with red heated tents sheltering the outdoor tables of the restaurants on either side of the street... mostly Lebanese mezze and classic Italian cuisine...
And we finally come to a square with a church sporting a mosaic of St. George fighting the dragon... behind which sits a mosque.

Jilki Kurdi - Newruz we Pirozbe

After being in Kurdistan for 2 picnic seasons already without a jilki kurdi (Kurdish dress), I decided this year would be the year. Just before Newruz (and our departure for Lebanon), I and a local lady lawyer friend headed for the tailors armed with a load of sparkly fabric my friend brought back from India to sell in stalls in Hawler Mall and the bazaar for women looking for something different for their traditionally styled picnic/party wear. Her tailor of choice? Beirut! (Ironic as I was headed to the real Beirut in the matter of a few days). Like wearers of the sparkliest of jilki kurdis, I walked in trailing a shimmery pixie dust of sequins, pearls and jewel-like beads. Should be ready for when I return.

Ides of March

I am not referring to a Roman holiday and nobody was assassinated on the 15th of March in Kurdistan, but there are a lot of National and other holidays in March. More about these when I return to Erbil (Sorry for the long silence).

The finished product

Some people don't like my naked white wall, but eventually something will be hung there (even if it is against flat-user policy)... I mean the walls are crappy anyway. In a few places, the act of rolling paint on the wall brought the wall away. And yes, it is true that we didn't strip the walls and prime them... but that is because the plaster work underneath the beige paint was also substandard and the plaster falls away if you even look at the walls in the wrong way.
Still others mentioned that they couldn't understand why I would paint the walls of a place I didn't intend to stay long-term in. But I feel that there are several reasons to paint, not the least of which being simply for something to do... In addition, I feel that even if you are only planning to live somewhere a short time, you should enjoy. Painting in Erbil is like building an elaborate sand castle - a transient pleasure:
A view from the foyer - now Bordeaux 75! (kitchen to right, living room to left)
And below is the living/dining room - living room half is now Oase (sage) and the dining half is natural white... No beige!


Now I just need some friends to paint pictures to hang on the walls.

Banish-the-Beige Painting Party

One of the first things that S said on arriving at my flat was a reminder of how I had mentioned that I would like to paint my flat... and the offer of her expert painting assistance. Since this was her last week before returning to the UK, we caught a ride with Mu and headed to the paint shop... a big shop on a road somewhere behind the market selling primarily Turkish paint. Shopping for paint in Kurdistan proved to be quite the experience as first of all, the shop clerks couldn't get over the fact that women were shopping and choosing colors that they clearly thought were absurd (Are you sure? That color is dark!)... and secondly was the incredible revelation that we were planning to paint the walls ourselves. Apparently DIY, especially for women, is not really a local custom. So anyway, we chose Bordeaux 75, Oase (sage green), natural white and Laches (the only color a man picked out and it was very light salmon pink) for one of the smaller rooms. The men found it so funny, they gave us Betek overalls, T-shirts and caps and asked us to take photos for them of the rooms before, during and after painting. We in turn found it funny that they had no idea what a paint tray was or even that you needed one to use a roller.

Anyway, yesterday we finally got rid of some the institutional all-beige feel of the flat. D and Mu's friend Haji came and we did the front hall and living room. Below are the "during" photos (by S).




And finally, after it was all over, Y made his way over in a taxi and we enjoyed a little post-painting party (photos by Y).

Visitors

Having done research on Kurdish diaspora and subsequently worked for more than a semester at our university, it was no real surprise that S was returning for a few weeks in Hawler. But when I received an email informing me that British based Turkish Cypriot friend Y would be visiting from London, it felt completely out of the blue... perhaps because unlike mutual London-based archivist friend, Y never indicated an interest in visiting Iraq or Iraqi Kurdistan. So far, it is more than interesting to have these two friends here at the same time; S who is surprised to find being back almost unbearable, and Y who is pleasantly surprised by what he is encountering and keeps saying, "I never expected..."

I am sure that the shiny new face of the Erbil International Airport, the new ground transportation and the ease and organization of Austrian Airlines made Y's arrival smooth and comfortable... like a mini Dubai without the duty free shopping? And exiting the airport, he would have passed our "luxury" apartments (at least clean and modern from the outside), massive construction sites complete with imposing and impressive stone gates, a few sample homes and cranes inside (how would he know that they have sat abandoned for months?), shiny facades of shopping centers and finally, his home in Hawler, "Erbil International Hotel" (the fake Sheraton). Not that our visit together did much to initiate him into the realities of life here. After coffee, we had to stop to pick up a suit for Mu at a new men's fashion showroom - the likes of which I have never before seen in Hawler. We then went to a Turkish barbecue restaurant which was clean and was patronized by well-turned out locals and internationals alike. But I must admit, I also noticed (with Y pointing things out through the window), that things had changed... at least superficially. The roads back to the hotel were all well lit, and many of the islands between lanes were decorated with a row of fledgling palm trees.

Above photos (by Y) at Manqal Restaurant in Ankawa.
A brief stop for gas, not as flashy as Khak or Sher, not as dingy as the roadside kids with the plastic containers of gas. Photo also Y's.
And this would be Y's first view as he enters the "Sheraton" - the barbecue pit outside of the Atrium garden restaurant.

With S and Mu, it is other things I am reminded of... that the vacuum created by the absence of a rule of law persists and with it, arbitrary decision-making, cynicism, distrust, nepotism and "wasta" (everyone connected to anyone gets a big bite of the pie)... all as just part of the rampant corruption. Every minor government official drives around in a Landcruiser or BMW and the agencies they work for are "too poor" to do anything for the people... not that the people really expect anything or do anything to assist change. What's the point? And for those who really do want to do anything that could be deemed "worthwhile" for Kurdistan, it seems it is necessary to schmooze with any number of greasy politicians who talk about everything except...

OK. Enough of that because it is likely that either I am boring you by restating the blatantly obvious... or making you angry, so I will stop. Last night while out with Y, I got a text from a colleague asking me to dinner tonight because today he has a couch surfer is arriving. Shall I wait and see what his initial impressions of Kurdistan are?

The Garbage Bar

"It's very romantic," insists Mu, regarding the place he took visiting friend for a beer... a place he affectionately calls the Garbage Bar. "The moon... garbage... beer."
Romantic indeed! Ideas about romance vary from culture to culture. I mean, there are people here think it is romantic to follow the woman they love and snap photos of her with his cell phone, behaviour many of us might consider to be "creepy stalking"... or to injure themselves to demonstrate... what? How painful love is? Or to send love texts hundreds of times during the day and night...
But in any case, regarding the Garbage Bar, I will withhold judgement until I can go... and I will try to get a new battery recharger in the bazaar so that I can photograph it for you. In reality, it is a place where some locals (reportedly primarily Muslims) go to drink unseen. They buy their alcohol in Ankawa, mix it in plastic water bottles (I save mine for a Chaldean guy whose uncle has an alcohol shop who collects bottles to give to customers on their way to the Garbage Bar), head to the Garbage Bar (a deserted street on the edge of Ankawa) where they park, drink and throw their bottles onto the garbage heap.

Overweight

My small extra bag took me to 13 kg over the 20 kg limit, but with no carry on (an additional permissible 8 kg ), and Austrian Airline still decided to charged me £257 in overweight! That works out to about £20 per kilo. They could have at least deducted my 8 kg carry on allowance and charged me £100 for only 5. Other colleagues in the airport paid double what I paid, but a guy that hung out and waited for the girl at the counter to change paid nothing. I will choose my counter more wisely next time.
(Picture taken in Museum in Nuremberg).

Transportation

On our trip through Europe this winter, Mom and I travelled primarily by train and local transport (buses, subways, trains) with the exception of a few taxis and one horse drawn sleigh... but Mom (I seem to be unobservant) pointed out a couple of other forms of transport she found interesting... starting with an eye-catching candy bus in Munich...... to 4-legged tourist transport sporting gortex jackets in Salzburg. I didn't know they made them for horses... I thought they were for North American hikers and backpackers (and almost all Vancouverites)...

... to public bicycles in Paris. I would like to try this system next time.

Last Stop London

And finally, friends and I in London celebrated the start of 2009. Seems more and more people are relocating to London. I now have more friends in London than in Vancouver. Thanks to Amy for the gorgeous spread.










On the first day of 2009, we wandered along the South Bank. Below are views from the South Bank; St. Paul's, the Millennium Bridge...






And Tower Bridge.

Iraq in Paris

Don't you just love that I have to go to the Louvre in Paris... or the Britih Museum in London to see artifacts of the type that exist or were taken from an area just about an hour from where I live now?

Paris

OK... since coming back to Erbil, I have felt completely sapped of energy and have not posted even the last pictures from my winter vacation... so here they are...
After the castles tour in Bavaria, we boarded the TGV to Paris. Although we only had a couple of days in Paris, during which I think I thoroughly exhausted Mom, we managed to get around a bit:
The below picture was taken on the evening of our arrival at Hôtel de Ville (City Hall). Too bad everything was closed as it ws a Sunday.

On the second day in Paris, we got up early and headed to Rue de Rivoli for the world's most fabulous hot chocolate at Angelina's. From there we headed down through Les Tuileries, gardens created by the Versailles park designer. Mom noted the statue below as there was a dog in it... something a little unusual. All through Germany, she had noted the huge number of dog walkers. In Paris, it was more doggy gifts on the streets that she noticed.

We then arrived at the Louvre, the highlight of the day.

Below is a picture of part of Napolean's apartments... a part of the Louvre that I hadn't previously been to. By the time we left the Louvre, we were completely exhausted. But I still had to fit in a little shopping near Châtelet and dinner in Les Halles.

And below is a scene from the edge of the Seine.

On our final day, we just went to Cafe Beaubourg and met my friend Audrey for lunch before leaving for London on the Eurostar...