Iraq
 

Hi All,
I just visited the northern/kurdish part of Iraq, rode from Turkey to the Iran border & back.
Fabulous place, & wonderful people!
The roads are 'ok' (Im on an old Harley with a rigid frame)
a modern bike would be no problem.
Watch out for the unmarked speedbumps in every town, & once you get outside the bigger cities, theres no hotels. (and none of the hotels are very cheap) But, seems like you can camp about anywhere.
people were very friendly & helpful everywhere.
there were military checkpoints, but was never a hassle, usually they waved me on past, if they did stop me, it was more out of curiosity.
I never once felt threatened.
no visa required, (Im from USA) and no cost to bring the bike in.
I really enjoyed it, & look forward to returning.

Just thought I'd share the info, in case anyone else wants to visit

Doug

Oh, and when you take pics, MAKE SURE there is not a military installation in the background!

dont ask me how I learned this.......

:innocent:

Doug

:nono::nono::nono::nono::nono:
Glad you made it back!
Gr,
Vincent:clap:

Hey bro, keep up the good work, thanks for the update.

Greetings from me and Barbara, we hope to share a green apple Fanta with you again soon. :-)

rtwdoug,

I actually heard about an American riding through Kurdistan on a Harley recently off one of the Lonely Planet forums. :thumbup1:

I'm also an American and will be making my way through Turkey this summer on a KLR 650 and have been hoping to enter Kurdistan for a few days... I've been worried about getting the bike in and what not; I'm glad to hear it was no trouble. Any tips/advice on the border crossing?

Did you ride the Hamilton Road?

I've heard continually it's helpful to have local contacts, was this the case for you?

Sounds like an amazing place! :cool4:

No problem at all to get the bike in and out

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...rak-info-53793

Keep well.

Thanks Miquel, thats a big relief. Great RR also,

Jake