A trip into Kurdistan

Recently I was given the chance to travel north from Mosul to Dahuk , Iraq (using the guise of covering medical missions with two doctors). It is in the heart of Kurdistan . The area looks amazingly like the Yakima valley, with the town in the valley surrounded by brown hills. The area is known for apples no less either! Hmm, I think there is a sister city connection in the works…

Anyway, Dakuk is in Kurdistan, a semiautonomous region in the north of Iraq . We protected the Kurds from Saddam with the no fly zone in the 90’s. After passing several checkpoints, we realized that we were in Kurdistan , and could put our guard down.

Up in Kurdistan , they look upon the coalition forces as liberators. We hooked up with our “Safe house” family(For security reasons, we had to keep our location secret, as well as the family’s name), through several changing of vehicles so no one knew where we were goingànot even my unit! We stayed with a lovely family who lived for some time in Denmark . The husband owns an electronics company, and the wife a day spa in Denmark , and a beauty shop in Dahuk. They had a 10yr old son who loved America and wanted to join the American Army and become a general. The doctors and I were immediately served some tea and given a whole hearted welcome. We were to consider their house our home as well. The house was of European standard with a western bathroom (which means a lot in this part of the world), a big living room, bedrooms, and a fully equipped kitchen. I could not have been happier with our accommodations.

We soon went to meet the Mayor of the city. He was a gracious host. He welcomed us to the city, and took us to dinner! We had lamb, chicken, beef, salad, soup, bread, and the list goes on and on. That evening we also met a Peshmerga General. (The Kurdish Army) When traveling through Kurdistan , you realize it is a country inside a country. The only thing linking it to Iraq is the currency. They have their own laws, own military, own police, own parliament. They are our closest alley in the region outside of Israel . Back to dinner, dinner usually lasts from 9:00 pm to midnight. Because of the heat, not much goes on during the day, but the city is alive at night. The markets are open, the streets are full. We made it back to our house where there was tea and fruit waiting for us. I did not get to bed that night to well past 1:00 in the morning. I slept like a log, with my 9mm under my pillow!

Oh, I forgot, after dinner, we went to an amusement park! Yes, you read that correct, I am in uniform with a weapon, in a worn torn country riding a Ferris wheel! I even ate ice cream! It gets even weirder! A few days prior, we sent some doctors and nurses to make contact with the hospitals up there. There I am getting off of the Ferris wheel, and we bump into the doctors and nurses! What are the odds of running into Americans from you unit in a city of 300,000+!

The next day we traveled to the hospitals. The doctors did their evaluations while I evaluated the medical supply system and equipment, and facilities. The hospital we visited was better than some state side facilities. One of our missions was to hand out wheel chairs. We started having a “clinic” at the safe house. We saw five people there with a range of injuries and diseases. We issued out two chairs, and went to visit others in town. In town, we issued out a few more.

We then went to dinner. Here is a treat: we arrived at a hotel, and told this is where we were to eat. The hotel was small and the lobby no bigger than a small living room. We took the elevator all the way up, and then continued on the stairs. We eventually arrived on the roof. Placed in a corner of the roof was a table set for us. We had a beautiful night time view of the city with a superb meal with great new friends. We ate for hours, talked about anything and everything. We gave our unit insignia to the hotel as a gift. It was all we had, but they cherished it!

We finally made it home, and I don’t remember my head hitting the pillow! The next day, I was able to break away from the formal clinic visits we still had to do to get some sight seeing in. I wanted to buy Molly a dress. The family and interpreter decided they would find a few for me to look at and I would decide which one to buy. When I hooked up with them later, they already bought it! Thanks! They also bought Laura a necklace! I had such a good time running through the market taking pictures. The ones here are of the little boy I took in a carpet shop. He was about four years old. He saw us walk in and asked his dad for some money. His dad thought he would buy some candy, but came back with Pepsis for everybody! He was an angel. The next is a typical market street. Imagine city blocks of this! I loved it, the sights, sounds and smells of the food, the children playing, the people haggling over prices! The last is of one of the many gold shops! I like this picture for some reason.

Well, there is more I can write about, but I must write a story or two for Uncle Sam. I promise, there will be more! Blogger's not letting me post pictures right now, so I'll try and get them put up tomorrow.