Explainer Post: Visiting Iraqi Kurdistan - Rationale and Prep-Work

Iraq. A combat zone, a geopolitical hotbed for the US and Iran, the only place I've ever been shot at. Aka a perfect place to go on The Great Gallivanting!

Rationale

To be clear, I didn't go to Federal Iraq, which is what most people think of when they think of Iraq. That's where Baghdad, Mosul, Fallujah, al-Anbar, and all those other places we'd all heard about in the news for 20 years are. I went to Iraqi Kurdistan, an autonomous region of Iraq which was a part of the historical Kurdish empire which spanned parts of Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria.

Iraqi Kurdistan was, by-and-large, quite safe when I visited. Several YouTube travelers had been, and I figured if I was that close, I needed to go. I had actually planned on going there since Jo and I started planning The Great Gallivanting. We had even talked about heading down to Baghdad if the political situation allowed for it.

As the date got closer, though, and with October 7th, Jo became increasingly concerned about going to a country under a Level 4 Travel Advisory from the U.S. State Department. Her arguments against going were absolutely solid. Everything from not having military assets to get us out should something bad happen to the proximity to Iran (with both of us having been in the military) to the Iranian-aligned militia groups' (IAMG, as they were then called by the U.S. Government) tendency to shoot off rockets in Northern Iraq (where Iraqi Kurdistan was located). I, however, had made it clear that I wanted to come here since the October before, and I would not be deterred. Maybe I'm crazy or just plain dumb, but I wanted to go. I had never made it to Iraqi Kurdistan while I was in Iraq for the Army, and wanted to look into it.

Security

In fact, the trip to Iraqi Kurdistan informed several of my packing decisions for my trip around the world. I intentionally packed clothes that had no English lettering on them whatsoever, I packed "grey man" clothes (i.e. clothes that didn't stand out), and had daypacks that didn't scream Westerner or military. I had also planned my route around the region to include easy access to Iraqi Kurdistan. I figured I would fly out of and into either Jordan or Turkey, both of which have relatively friendly relations with Iraq, especially in the fight against Islamic State (IS).

Of course, before I went, I made sure to do a lot of checking up on things from people who actually knew what they were talking about from the security side of things. YouTubers tend not to deep-dive the security issues there. Maybe they didn't need to, but my name had been on a military flight manifest with diplomatic clearance a few years before, so I had a few of my own concerns.

I reached out to someone I knew who worked at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. He and I had been in Iraq together before. He told me it was a bit better of a security situation than when we were there before, but he'd still classify it as risky. I actually saw this as good news, because years before not even the general officers treated Iraqi Kurdistan as particularly risky. Several times, senior officers would leave their body armour and helmets in Baghdad when they would fly to Erbil to save weight on the plane, because they deemed them unnecessary (of course, this left out the thought of being shot down on the flight over Federal Iraq on the way, but that wasn't a concern of mine traveling as a civilian).

I also reached out to another friend who worked under U.S. Central Command, which is in charge of all American military operations in the Middle East. He told me I would be fine. The IAMGs were shooting at the Coalition (the term for the multinational forces fighting IS), not the general population or into city centers. As long as I didn't advertise my American-ness and stayed away from military outposts, I would be fine. He even asked me to check out a pizza place for him.

Finally, I reached out to a guy that used to work for me when I was in the Army. He had been deployed to Iraq during the Iraq Civil War, and was currently in Syria. He thought I was crazy for going as a former member of the American military, but also told me that most of the cities were generally safe and thriving. He even recommended a few places I check out while I was there. He also asked me to keep him updated with my movements while I was there. I figured I could do worse than a First Sergeant keeping up-to-date with my movements in Iraq, so I agreed.

Travel

Getting to Iraqi Kurdistan was actually pretty easy. It was a short, direct flight from Amman, Jordan, on Royal Jordanian. It wasn't a cheap flight, so I opted to use some airline miles to get there. I had only really planned to be in Erbil for a couple of days, but the costs of flights made me re-evaluate that itinerary. There was a 100 USD flight a week after I got there to Istanbul, so I decided to extend my time. That also aligned really well with my general travel plan, so I took it.

Iraqi Kurdistan requires a visa, either on arrival or an e-visa in advance. I decided to get the e-visa because of my aforementioned concerns about having been there before for the military. It got approved with no problem. Important to note, however, was that the Iraqi Kurdistan visa only allowed me to visit Iraqi Kurdistan. I could not visit any other part of Iraq, aka Federal Iraq. If I wanted to visit those areas, I would need a separate visa. These could be obtained on arrival at Baghdad International Airport or at an Iraqi embassy abroad. Only tourism companies could apply for e-visas to Federal Iraq, which made my decision not to go there easy. I didn't want to fly to Baghdad, get questioned for hours in the visa process, and then get denied because of my military time there.

Telling Others

This was a point of contention for a few people. I made it a point not to tell my family where I was. I didn't want them to worry, and, more importantly to me, didn't want to hear their opinions about my decision to go. All they knew was what 20 years of war and the news told them.

I did, however, tell pretty much anyone I talked to about travel plans on the road. Strangers I'd known for only a couple of days thought it was a really cool plan, and one had even been himself. Another guy I met wanted to change his plans to go with me, but had his own reasons for deciding not to at the last minute. Hey, his loss!

Jo, of course, knew I was there. I would like to think she was jealous, but she was living it up on the beaches in Australia during their summer while I was cold in the Kurdish mountains, so I don't think she was. I kept her more-or-less apprised of my goings on. She was in constant contact with her mom, and my mom followed her on social media, so she could pretty easily let anyone at home know if there was any sort of emergency.

That First Sergeant I mentioned knew where I was at almost every turn. He had sent me the grid coordinates for a Coalition checkpoint and told his chain of command I was there, so I felt pretty well certain that, if worst came to worst, someone in the American military in the region would know I was there.

Funnily enough, my mom guessed I was there. She asked where I was spending Christmas, and I told her, generically, I was staying in the region. She pressed me on which country, and I told her I would be near the Zagros mountains, knowing full well she wouldn't remember to look those up. She finally said, "why won't you just tell me the country? Is it Iraq?" Why that was the first place that she asked, I still don't know, but I figured if she guessed it straight off, I might as well tell her. I didn't keep her fully up-to-date, but I did send her pictures. For some reason, she didn't really worry about me being there. I guess she figured I'd been around the block a time or two when it came to travel and terrorism, and I was the best person in our family to know what was a good idea and what wasn't.

My dad, on the other hand, I made it a point not to tell I was in Iraq. I eventually (after a day or two in country) told him I was in Erbil, and when he asked where that was, I told him Kurdistan. I figured he would just chalk these up to one of the many "Stans" in the region, which, at first, he did. He knew nothing about the region, but he loves researching where I am, so he pieced it together after I told him. I was already there, though, with an outbound ticket, so he didn't say anything about the safety of the region or being concerned about me being there.

Sightseeing

I had not originally planned to do any sightseeing in Iraqi Kurdistan. I was only going to be there for a couple of days, and I figured I would spend those days in Erbil and then move on. Just enough time to see the Citadel, explore part of the town, and then leave.

With my time be extended to a week, that changed my plan a bit. There were plenty of YouTube videos about traveling Kurdistan, but I was nowhere near prepared to take that on by myself, especially as an American. I didn't speak a single word of Kurdish (although, as of this writing, I now speak a single, solitary word of Kurdish), nor did Google Translate have both dialects available for download.

I decided to get a guide at the last minute. I reached out to Iraqi Kurdistan Guide, which I found with a Google search. They had a few days available during the week I was there, so I jumped on it. It was more expensive than I had planned for, but I thought it would be worth it to have a local showing me around the region (and it was). They put together a three-day itinerary to see the most of Iraqi Kurdistan, which worked out great for me. I would spend a few days in Erbil, a few days with them, one more day in Erbil, and then leave for Turkey. It was a pretty good plan. They also knew the best restaurants to visit on the road.

As far as accommodations went, I didn't want to move all of my stuff around more than I had to, so I decided to book a hotel room in Erbil for my whole time in Iraqi Kurdistan. I knew I would spend some nights away with the guide, but I felt way more comfortable knowing I would have one place as a base for my travels there. (If I were to go back, I wouldn't do this again, but that's because I have experience under my belt).

Psyching Myself Up to Go

I actually didn't have to psyche myself up to go. I didn't need a pep talk or to justify my decision to myself. This was an easy, no-brainer for me, and it didn't bother me in the least that I was headed to Iraq. There was something familiar about it, even though I had never been to Iraqi Kurdistan. After Amman, too, I was ready for anything. Nothing could have been worse than that experience, and I was hoping to offset it with an amazing time in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Plus, I would be there during Christmas. I have been described as crazy a few times in my life for some of my life choices, but I have always loved a good story. What better story from The Great Gallivanting than to spend Christmas in Iraq? Sure, I had done this before in the military, but now I would be doing it as a civilian. Now when people ask, "what was it like having Christmas in Iraq," I could respond, "which time?" Talk about a story.

In the end, The Great Gallivanting is all about the stories. I didn't (and don't) need to psyche myself up for a good story.