Middle East - Anthony Ham [203]
The Kurdish Regional Government issues its own tourist visa, good for travelling within Iraqi Kurdistan only. Citizens of most countries including Australia, the EU, New Zealand and USA are automatically issued free, 10-day tourist visas at the point of entry. Travellers of Arab descent need prior premission to enter Iraqi Kurdistan. Thirty-day visa extensions can be obtained at the Directorate of Residency in Erbil.
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TRANSPORT IN IRAQ
Iraq has a good network of roads. A rail line connecting Mosul, Baghdad and Basra recently reopened. But at the time of writing, Arab Iraq was not safe for travel. Independent travellers should stick to Iraqi Kurdistan only.
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GETTING THERE & AWAY
For information on visas and entry requirements, Click here.
Air
Iraqi Kurdistan has two international airports: Erbil and Sulaymaniyah. Tourist visas to Iraqi Kurdistan are issued upon arrival. Only those who absolutely must fly into Baghdad should do so. Flights into Baghdad often land in a hair-raising corkscrew manoeuvre to avoid the threat of missile attacks. Flying anywhere into Iraq is very expensive due to high insurance costs and limited competition.
Royal Jordanian (www.rj.com) and Iraqi Airways (www.iraqiairways.co.uk) fly to Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Baghdad and Basra from both Amman and Dubai. Turkish Airlines (www.thy.com) flies between İstanbul and Baghdad once a day, five days a week. Austrian Airlines (www.aua.com) flies between Erbil and Vienna; Azmar Air (www.azmarairline.org) serves Sulaymaniyah from İstanbul and Dubai. There are also a handful of fly-by-night charter airlines.
Land
Iraq is bordered by six countries. At the time of writing, the only safe overland crossing is the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing between Silopi, Turkey and Zakho, Iraq. It may be possible to enter or exit Iraqi Kurdistan through the Haji Omaran Border with a prearranged Iranian visa, but this has not been tested by us. All other borders are dangerous no-go zones.
IBRAHIM KHALIL BORDER CROSSING
Arriving into Silopi by bus, you’ll be met at the station by a crowd of taxi drivers yelling, ‘Zakho! Zakho!’ Pick any one; the price is set at US$50 per taxi. Bring 10 photocopies of your passport’s photograph page. From Silopi, it’s a five-minute drive to the border, where your driver will manoeuvre through a maze of checkpoints and handle the paperwork. You may be searched and interviewed by Turkish border guards. Warning: the Kurdish issue is a very sensitive topic in Turkey. Never refer to your destination as ‘Kurdistan’. It’s ‘Iraq’ and ‘Iraq’ only!
Finally, you’ll reach the big ‘Welcome to Iraqi Kurdistan Region’ sign. You’ll be led into a small office, offered tea and interviewed by one or more Kurdish Peshmerga officials. Be honest. It helps to have the name and phone number of an Iraqi Kurdish contact. After receiving your 10-day tourist-visa stamp, your driver will drop you off at a nearby taxi lot where you must change into an Iraqi taxi to continue to Zakho, Dohuk or beyond.
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GETTING AROUND
Air
Iraqi Airways flies several domestic routes including between Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, but it is so unreliable it’s not worth it.
Bus
Iraq’s bus transport network is very poor. The few routes that exist are crowded and unsafe. Travellers in Iraqi Kurdistan are advised not to use intercity buses because they often travel through or stop in dangerous cities such as Mosul and Kirkuk.
Taxi
Taxis are the main mode of public transport in Iraq. In cities, they are cheap and plentiful, usually costing no more than ID5000. For intercity travel within Iraqi Kurdistan, you have two choices: private taxi or cheaper, shared taxis. Shared taxis depart and arrive from a city ‘garage’, or large parking lot; drivers will be standing outside their vehicle, yelling the name of their destination. Shared taxis leave when they are full. Expect to pay between ID5000 to ID20,000. When travelling between major cities