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[hallsp]

Kurdish Iraq: Practical Advice

We advise against all travel to Iraq because of the extremely dangerous security situation and very high threat of terrorist attacks. If you’re currently in Iraq, we advise you to leave immediately.

This was the advice of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs in July 2017. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom was more nuanced, advising against all travel to the Sunni Triangle in central Iraq, and against all but essential travel everywhere else, including Kurdistan.

This is good advice, if you’re being extremely cautious. In fact, though, Kurdish Iraq is very safe. There is the omnipresent danger of terrorist attack, of course, but this is more likely in London or Paris. The autonomous Kurdish region is heavily policed by peshmerga forces.

Currency

At the time of writing, €1 = 1,400 dinars (IQD). The currency exchange desk in Erbil International Airport (EIA) is unmanned, but you can change money at most of the other desks. There are money-changers by the dozen in Erbil itself, with a whole raft of them clumped together in a lane by the street-market opposite the Bakhi Shar garden.

Language

Erbil is known as Hawler in Kurdish, so it’s best to use this instead. You’ll see all sorts of spellings for As-Sulaymaniya, from Sulmani to Slimany. Often it’s just called Sulay.

Obviously I’d be circumspect about speaking Arabic in “Free Kurdistan.” About 1 in 4 people speak broken English, so you’ll need some basic Kurdish:

Min = Hello/Hi

Chooni? = How are you?

Spas = Thanks

Arrival

I flew into Erbil, as that’s the cheapest option; flying to As-Sulaymaniya is consistently more expensive. On arrival at Erbil International Airport (EIA) there’s no need to queue at the visa desk if you’re a citizen of the EU. Just go straight to passport control and you’ll receive a visa stamp for 30 days.

To get to the centre of Erbil take the free shuttle bus to the external terminal and grab a taxi outside, it should cost 20,000 dinars.

Accommodation

There are no hostels in Iraq, but there are budget hotels. Most of the budget hotels in Erbil are beside the bazaar, near Kirkuk Street. I had my own small room with en suite at the Lord City Hotel for 25,000 dinars per night. I heard that the Bikhal Hotel was cheaper. In Sulay, all the hotels are on Selim Street, or beside the bazaar on Mawlawi Street. I stayed at the Yalda Hotel for 25,000 a night, but got less bang for my buck: no en suite.

Food & Drink

Eating out in Erbil is relatively difficult. There are quite a few kebab places and one sit-down chicken restaurant in the bazaar but that’s about it. The bigger hotels, like the Sheraton, have really nice restaurants but they’re quite expensive. Do try the tea in Mam Khalil’s place in the bazaar, it’s been going since 1963. Sulay has much more to offer. It’s a really cool city, with lots of trendy cafés and restaurants. You can have your pick of anything there.

Water

I was warned not to drink tap water so I stuck with bottled water. However, I had several drinks with ice and never had a problem!

Getting Around

There are no buses or trains in Kurdish Iraq. The only way of getting around is by using shared taxis. It’s a simple system. If you’re in Erbil and you want to travel to Sulay, you must go the “Sulaymaniyah Garage” and climb into the next available taxi. The taxis queue up, with the first taxi waiting to fill up with four people before going, then on to the next. It’s 15,000 dinars from Erbil to Sulay, and from Erbil to Dohuk, and 5,000 dinars from Sulay to Halabja. The shared taxis are great for meeting locals, but it can also be quite uncomfortable in the heat.

Warning: In driving from Erbil to Dohuk, the taxi will take the road to Mosul. The taxi won’t go into Mosul itself but will drive through the outskirts. If you go this route you will also briefly leave the jurisdiction of the Kurdish Regional Government, and enter a zone jointly controlled by the Kurdish peshmerga and the Iraqi Army. You re-enter Kurdish Iraq after leaving Mosul. The exact same situation pertains in going from Erbil to Sulay. This time you take the road to Kirkuk. Again, the taxi will not go into Kirkuk but will pass through the outskirts. And again, you will temporarily leave Kurdish Iraq for Iraq proper. I took both these journeys, and it was completely safe.

[cordedshoots]

Hmmm what is this? Will report my findings on the next post. Sher-lock Holmes on the case. Day 253 of #SocialDistancingMops 🐾❤️🐾 📹 by @quorduroy #Manchester #HungarianPuli #Magyar #PuliDogs #Dreads #MopDog #dogwithdreads #dreadlockdog #dogwithdreads #petsoriginal #BestWoof #Pulidog #CordedDogs #PetsOriginal #dogsofinstagram #DogsOfManchester #PrivateInvestigator #RovingReporter #MopsOfManchester #ManchesterEveningNews (at Manchester, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/CMFzP-3phw1/?igshid=1oyu4jeif4jt8

[dionnefarris]

#waitforit 😝"I'm your roving reporter, Coco Chocolate in down #atlanta for channel 4 news!" #happy #halloween #70sdiva #rovingreporter #thescoop #bellbottoms #polyester #leisuresuit #fannypack #newsreporter #70s #70sfashion #bighair #blondshavemorefun

[nucreativemedia]

TTTP is the newest trip in America! watch Mr. Baaka talk to people from all walks of life about the biggest genre if music.... Hiphop. #TTTP #hiphip201 #mixcloudmondays #summer2019 #liveitdoitbeit #laparties #lahiphop #googlepodcasts #rovingreporter #lastories #tunein #mrbaaka #capitale (at Delicious Pizza) https://www.instagram.com/p/B16FsCSHBSJ/?igshid=1ijjnix6kemkz

[darkhorseva]

It's Tell us Tuesday (or...Wednesday) (Part 2) with Skye Lindberg of our upcoming production "No Exit". Our roving reporter caught up with her and here's what she had to say: RR: Can you tell us about the rehearsal process? What's it like? How is it similar or different to previous productions you've worked on? SL: It's been very interesting because all of these characters are so different and have such depth. We've done a lot of back-story work, and I love hearing what my cast mates have been exploring and how we all connect. This process involves a lot of table work, because of the intense circumstances for each character. RR: What is your favorite part about performing? SL: Connecting with the audience. Each performance is so different, and I love experiencing different audiences and getting to observe reactions. Also, collaborating with different artists and creators! RR: What is your least favorite part about performing? SL: Long hours. I think it's all worth it and your time on stage will only be stronger the more time you put in off-stage, but sometimes it can be draining! RR: What advice would you give to up and coming actors? SL: Don't compare yourself to others! Be your own person and accept the ways you're different. Also, get to know every single person you come in contact with in the business. Professionalism is just being courteous. RR: Why should we come see this show? SL: Come see No Exit to get a challenging mind-workout in. This show will make you think and question what you already thought, aka the best kind of theater! #dcarts #dctheatre #tellustuesday #tellusyourstory #yourstory  #tuesday  #rovingreporter #reporter #virginiatech#fauquier #herndonva #herndon #georgemason @artspaceherndon  #arts #artist #fairfaxcounty #virginia @georgemasonu @arenastage #dontcompare #beyourself #courtesy #professional https://www.instagram.com/p/B1JguxVh9en/?igshid=1i5ewd8y1w37p

[mislaced]

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[niggahnews]

‪NiggahNews: ‬It don’t make no difference what color they r, if their a celebrity, & they done did some IGNORANT ASS, Niggahissh issh, it’s gon b n NiggahNews #NiggahNews #ATL #Friends #RealEstate #DontJudgeMe #Diamond #Witness #Bacardi #Boat #RovingReporter #Yacht #Peace #Brandy #Wine #Kittens #Cat #FootBall #Jamaica #Playa #141 #drawing #followback #vscocam #sweet #smile #pink #jubla #lager #sommerlager #Face

[psst-itcy-love-blog]

Meet Geoff & Wendy Jordan From Poseidonio #Restaurant #interviewed by our #rovingreporter Sam. http://www.itcy.net/blog-post/meet-geoff-wendy-jordan-from-poseidonio-restaurant/ (at Protaras)

[letsgototheex]

Social Media Roving Reporter: Wrapping Up 2016

Hi everyone! With the final day of the CNE behind us, it’s time to say farewell. I have to say that this is one of the best experiences I have ever had in my life. I have been passionate about the CNE since I was a child and getting the opportunity to visit every day, capture behind the scenes, and share all of my adventures with you has been incredibly fulfilling. Every night I would go home excited that more was on the horizon for the next day. 

Many of the wonderful people who keep the CNE going!

There are so many people I want to thank for making this the best experience possible, including the awesome people who work at the CNE, the dedicated performers, and friendly guests like you! Thank you for creating some of my favourite candid moments! I also want to acknowledge Angela for her excellent work covering the Innovation Garage and for sharing her incredible adventures of the CNE.

Enjoying Ribfest with the social media team!

It’s funny to say that I didn’t get to see or do everything, even though I was here from start to finish over the past 18 days. I think that’s a testament to how much there is to do and see at the CNE, especially when you open yourself to new things. I wanted to write a novel of my favourite adventures at the CNE but I think my entries on our social media pages are the best way to see.

Taking the obligatory selfie in front of iconic CNE landmarks!

Thank you so much again for making this an unforgettable CNE for me, and I look forward to seeing you next year. Bring on #CNE2017!

Bonus: Due to high demand I’m sharing with you some of the wind-down photos of the grounds. It’s incredible how quickly things return to normal.

I can still smell those delicious ribs!

I’m already excited for next year’s concerts!

I got my first caramel apple here! 

Looking forward to seeing the infamous Ferris Wheel here again next year!

How many shops did you get to this year?

Imagine what kind of awesome treats are going to be on the midway next year!

All the best!

~KJ

[hallsp]

Dalkey and Environs

If you follow the swerve of shore south of Dublin city, you eventually wind up in Dalkey village, a small heritage town known largely for its three small castles and pretty main street, but also for its artisan shops, independent cafés, and popular pubs.

A sleepy suburb, the area is occasionally referred to as “the Beverley Hills of Dublin,” because of the number of celebrities living in the area — Bono! — Van Morrison! — or as “Ireland’s Bay of Naples,” because of the spectacular views, particularly from the top of nearby Killiney Hill. The village itself isn’t far from the border with Wicklow, a county known as “the Garden of Ireland.”

The town is heavily associated with writers. George Bernard Shaw was born in Torca Cottage; James Joyce taught in Clifton School, on Dalkey Avenue, and stayed in the nearby Martello Tower in Sandycove; Brendan Behan learned to mix explosives (chlorate of potash with paraffin wax and gelignite) in an IRA safe-house up the hill, now Fitzpatrick Castle. (In the 1950s, ownership of the Castle went to Seán Russell, then-IRA Chief-of-Staff. This is the same Seán Russell who died aboard a Nazi U-Boat in 1940.)

Hugh Leonard, known locally as Jack, was born in Dalkey; as was Maeve Binchy. The local pubs were once a playground for Samuel Beckett, and Flann O’Brien, who published The Dalkey Archive in 1964 — the story of a quirky scientist by the name of de Selby. Howard Marks, the famous drug-dealer (and author) hid out here in the 1970s, with crazy Jim McCann – another IRA connection. Salman Rushdie spent part of his decade in hiding, from the long reach of the Ayatollah Khomeini, living with Bono. Robert Fisk, the most eminent journalist of the Middle East, has had a home in the area for a number of years.

In fact, the history of writing in the village goes way back. In the late 18th century, a bunch of young wits and poets came together to take the absolute piss out of everything they could set their sights upon. They crowned a man named Stephen Armitage, who styled himself King of Dalkey, Emperor of the Muglins, Prince of the Holy Island of Magee, Baron of Bulloch, Seigneur of Sandycove, Defender of the Faith and Respector of All Others, Elector of Lambay and Ireland’s Eye, and Sovereign of the Most Illustrious Order of the Lobster and Periwinkle.

Thomas Moore, “the Bard of Ireland,” and author of the Minstrel Boy, among much else, was a willing subject of this petty kingdom. Moore’s friend, the poet Henrietta Battier, wrote a number of odes, including the line: “Hail, happy Dalkey! queen of isles, Where justice reigns in freedom’s smiles.” Then came the ’98 Rebellion. The Government moved to quell any expression of dissent. Thankfully, the tradition has been restored in our time: the sacristan of the local church, Fionn Gilmartin, currently occupies this exalted throne.

So august a reputation has Dalkey for all things literary, the inaugural Dalkey Book Festival was organised by the economist David McWilliams in 2010, and has since attracted hundreds of writers, including Seamus Heaney, John Banville, and Amos Oz. I saw Salman Rushdie speaking in St. Patrick’s Church in 2014.

The pubs and restaurants are also second-to-none. Finnegan’s is the best-known: great for a pint of Guinness. Try King’s Inn for the banter, the Magpie for craft beer, DeVille’s for steak, Queen’s for the beer garden, Benitos for the service, McDonagh’s for live music and pool, and the Vico for shots before hitting town against your better judgement. Further up the hill you have the aforementioned Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel, and the Druid’s Chair, a gem of a little spot.

Close to Dalkey, along the coast back towards Dublin, you’ll find Dun Laoghaire. It’s got three sailing clubs, two piers, and one impressive library. You can walk along the promenade, the piers, or go for a swim on Sandycove beach, or in the 40 Foot bathing-place. Make sure you get yourself a 99 from Teddy’s, the ice-cream is famous all over Ireland. There’s also one or two decent pubs, particularly the Whiskey Fair and Gilbert & Wright’s. Like it or loath it, Wetherspoons have taken over the 40 Foot pub, which means cheap booze.

The Martello Tower, now the James Joyce Museum, was once rented by the writer (and doctor) Oliver St. John Gogarty. Joyce, having stayed with his friend for six nights in 1904, eventually used the experience in the opening pages of his masterpiece, Ulysses.

Dun Laoghaire was once known as Kingstown, so-named in 1821 after the visit of boozy King George IV, the first reigning monarch to visit Ireland since the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. In Howth, just north of Dublin, the king disembarked from his yacht on his birthday, already “in high spirits,” meaning inebriated, and you can still see his tiny footprints, preserved for all eternity. He departed from Dun Laoghaire eighteen days later. In fact, a nearby memorial marks this auspicious stop-over. William Mackepeace Thackeray, the famous English novelist, described it as a “hideous obelisk, stuck upon four fat balls.” That’s a fairly good description.

The best way to get to Dalkey and Dun Laoghaire is to use the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit), though there’s nothing “rapid” about it. Actually, the train journey from Dublin to Dun Laoghaire is the oldest in Ireland, built in 1834. It was used by Thackeray in 1842, Carlysle in 1849, and Dickens in 1867. In 1882, having arrived by boat into Dun Laoghaire, Lord Cavendish, the newly-appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, took this train into the city on his first day on the job, only to be murdered that evening in the Phoenix Park. The park is somewhat safer these days.

The train was slowly extended around the rest of the coast over the coming years. There are stunning views of the sea between Dalkey and Greystones, where the track tunnels through solid rock and clings to precarious sea cliffs. It was designed by famous engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

[thevtgsuitcase]

Say hello to your new @vintagelifemag Events Editor! Pic by @dollhousephotographyuk #VintageLife #VintageLifeMag #EventsEditor #RovingReporter #Events #Fairs #Festival

[cordedshoots]

One of the photos I took from Mum's #gopro when we went to #crufts2016 yesterday's. My first day as #rovingreporter #goprodog #gopropuli @kclovesdogs @crufts #hungarianpuli That's my sister, Kimba

[darkhorseva]

It's Tell Us Tuesday (part 2) with Jane Steffen of our upcoming August and September production of Jean-Paul Sartre's masterpiece "No Exit". Our roving reporter caught up with her and here is what she had to say! RR: Will you tell us a bit about what the rehearsal process is like? JS: We spend a lot of time on character work and going through the dialogue, imagining different scenarios that may not be given in the script, and building our back stories. It's all very good and makes sure that we are on the same page about what we are doing. The director sets the tone of the rehearsal and Natasha is very involved. She makes sure that we are using our brains. RR: What is your favorite part about performing? JS: My favorite part about performing is the freedom. When you know your part backwards and forwards, when you have put in all the time and work, by the time you are at performance you just get to let it fly. It is extremely liberating and like being hyper-alive. RR: How about your least favorite part? JS: My least favorite part about performing is the flip-side of that, when for whatever reason you get pulled out of it and all of a sudden become painfully aware that you are an actor on a stage in front of an audience and what is happening at the moment is insane. I'd like to say that I'm so focused that never happens to me, but it does, and I've found the best thing to do is just realize it, accept it and hop right back into the action. RR: What advice do you have for up and coming actors? JS: For anyone starting out I'd say to not worry about what anyone else is doing. If someone seems light years ahead of you, maybe they are, who cares?, you can always get better. Just open your mouth and tell the truth. If you believe it, so will they. Oh, and calm down at auditions. Remember, everyone you are auditioning for wants you to be awesome. They are all rooting for you. RR: Why should we come see "No Exit"? JS: People should come and see "No Exit" because it is a play that makes you consider how honest you are with yourself. Are you a villian? Are you a victim? Is there always a difference? #darkhorseva #dctheatre #tellustuesday #tuesday #rovingreporter #dc https://www.instagram.com/p/B0l_uTXBVKD/?igshid=1h2hpv1lyir2r

[mislaced]

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[niggahnews]

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I don’t giv a fat baby’s ass, if their black, white, yellow or tan. If their a celebrity, and they done did, some ignorant, Niggahissh, issh, it’s gone be in #NiggahNews #NetWorking #Love #Views #ATL #Friends #RealEstate #DontJudgeMe #Diamond #Witness #Bacardi #Boat #RovingReporter #Yacht #Peace #Brandy #Wine #Kittens #Cat #FootBall #Jamaica #Playa #IceCube #WendyWilliams #App #Smile #BPInBed #Welding

[hallsp]

One Year Abroad

This time last year I departed Ireland aboard the HSC Jonathan Swift from the ferry terminal in Dublin Port, bound for the Middle East. I’ve since visited fifteen countries, nine of them for the very first time.

It’s been an interesting year. I was in Hammersmith the night of the London Bridge attack, I was robbed at torch-point on a night-train in Macedonia, I managed a small hostel in Athens, I fell in with a dodgy Kurdish street-gang in Istanbul, I traveled all across occupied Palestine, I drank illicit homemade wine in Iran and met with a mullah, I went to the former headquarters (and torture hub) of Saddam Hussein’s feared mukhabarat in Sulaymaniyah, I circumnavigated recently-liberated Mosul in Iraq, I visited a Hezbollah museum in the mountains of Lebanon, and I traveled by train and felucca to Nubia in Upper Egypt. I also had the opportunity to work with refugee children from Syria, and found a teaching job in a school in Beirut, a city which is now my home away from home.

Le monde est un livre, dont celui qui n’a pas voyagé n’a que lu la première page.

I’m delighted that I’ve had the opportunity to explore a modest few inches in this corner of the map. Along the way, I’ve learned a few things I think worthy of sharing.

You need a positive reason to travel, it seems to me. I’ve met a lot of people who are fleeing something at home. I think they imagine that travel will transform their lives, but they soon learn that change — as any Buddhist will tell you — comes only from within. Your surroundings have little to do with it. Travel can prompt that change, of course, but it requires more then just a train ticket. Any wild idea, like traveling the world, requires careful and honest scrutiny, but if it survives this process, and if it is something you must do, then do it! Personally, I’m not traveling just for the sake of it, I’m on this journey because I wanted to live in the Middle East and to learn Arabic. This was my impetus.

Travelers are the best and the worst people in the world. The peripatetic life attracts all sorts. I’ve met ex-pats, hippies, diplomats, thrill-seekers, digital nomads, retirees, long-weekenders, missionaries, students, and escapists. Many of these are amazing people. They’ve got great stories — crossing the ocean on cargo ships, cycling through Africa, confronting Israeli settlers, being arrested in a tribal area of Afghanistan, or abducted in the wrong part of Beirut.

Travelers come in a number of specific variants, it seems to me, which become easier to spot after a time. There’s the curious explorer, for example, and then there’s the ex-pat. The ex-pat is a funny creature. They live in a bubble of their own cultural creation. It’s as if they never left their own land. They make no serious attempt to learn about or really live in the culture which surrounds them. They stay a while, then move, living contract to contract.

Then there’s the windbag, the boaster. He travels for the sake of traveling. The more countries the better and the more obscure the better still. North Korea is particularly popular. You get serious kudos for taking the train from Beijing to Pyongyang. Then there’s the bullshitter. Mark Twain called them the “Old Travelers.” The careful among them first establishes that no one within earshot can confront them before waxing lyrical about some place or other that they’ve never actually been.

I am not born for one corner; the whole world is my native land.

The world is a lot smaller than I thought. I already knew about the influence of Western culture and globalisation and all of that, but the extent of homogenisation is startling. It goes without saying that there are obvious cultural, linguistic, and political differences between countries, but it’s avowedly a global village. People are everywhere the same. They’re talking about the same issues, eating the same food, and watching the same movies. The power of the internet, I suppose.

Two people can have wildly different impressions of the exact same place. Your take on anywhere-at-all depends on so many factors: the mercurial nature of travel, the time of year, the people you meet. I love Cairo, for example, but I’ve met quite a few people who hate it. John Steinbeck said much the same thing when comparing his personal impressions of Prague with those of the journalist Joseph Alsop: “It just wasn’t the same place, and yet each of us was honest, neither one a liar, both pretty good observers by any standard, and we brought home two cities, two truths.”

The wheeling and dealing of traders in the Middle East is both an art and a science. I’ve spent significant time wandering the bazaars and souks of the Middle East, so I’m used to being harrassed by traders. I’ve been conned and swindled and I’ve also done my fair share of bargaining. There’s one basic rule to remember: the vendor will never sell you something at a loss. Ever. So don’t feel bad about offering much lower prices. Their starting price is extortionate as a rule. They’re also extremely persistent, so you have to match their persistence. Here’s James Creagh, visiting Warsaw in 1867:

It is impossible to get away from them without the free use of a stick. They would not be satisfied if a man spent all his money among them till he had actually bartered away his clothes.

A sage remark, to be sure. Compared to the Middle East, though, these traders went easy on him.