Last day in Iraqi Kurdistan

Museum fail

Having done more than what I had intended yesterday, I’m relatively free today.  My plan had been to go to Amna Suraka and the Museum today.  But now, I only have the latter to attend to.

I walked to the Museum getting there around 0940.  The opening time is 0900.  While it was open, the lady at reception said it was closed.

Me:  What time will be it open?
Her:  We don’t know yet.
Me:  Will it be open at all today?
Her:  We don’t know yet.

I left not too disappointed because I’m not exactly a museum kinda guy.  It’s more to fill in time.  I message Manouk who got the message too late.  But she did find out that the museum was closed for two months.

I priced some pharmaceuticals on the way home.  In particular, finasteride was a little more than India’s supercheap prices.  Pays to stock up a little if I have leftover currency at the end of today.

The mountains around Sulaymaniyah

Time went quickly on the internet and a light lunch.  Soon it was 1300, the time that Shah was going to take some of the guests for a ride to the mountains surrounding Sulaymaniyah.  It ended up being Manouk, Suwena from Australia and myself.

Shah drove us up to the hills on the north-west of the city to a couple of viewpoints.    He told us that during Iraqi rule, people were not allowed to go beyond 16^th street which was kinda the boundary of the city.  Anyone venturing beyond it, or found in the hills that we were standing on were assumed to be peshmerga.

Next we went to the Hawary Shar park, one of the largest in the world (4400 acres).  Not all the land dedicated to the park has been landscaped as funds were shifted to fight ISIS.  Within the park was a large amphitheatre which was rather impressive.  I’m just hoping that it gets lots of use.

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Preparing to leave

Back around 1600, the three of us guests went out for a snack of falafel wrap.  It was super-yummy; my first one this trip.  And super-cheap at IQD500 (USD0.42).  It got even cheaper when a well-dressed gentleman pointed to us and paid for our bill.  That’s Kurdish hospitality!

After confirming the cost of my ride to the airport tonight (after midnight), I stocked up on my pharmaceuticals.  That gave me enough money for a chicken kebab and some sweets.  I had absolutely no dinars left apart for my airport ride.

It was cool as I did one last round of the bazaar.  It appears that the shops selling clothing and shoes are busy late in the afternoon.  They pack up in the evening and the street stalls really take off when it gets dark.  Some small eateries close up then too and give way to the stalls.

I finalised my packing and popped a sleeping pill just before 2000 to attempt a 4h sleep.  I may have got around 3h30 including 45 mins of deep sleep, if my cheap smartwatch can be believed.  That’s a little less than what I can function with, which is 4h.

The sleep was still better than nothing.   I was pleased that I had stayed at the Dolphin Hostel/Hotel.  At USD20, I didn’t feel too bad that the schedule change had caused me to waste my pre-booked night at the hotel.  It was a reasonable price to pay to use it as a late check-out facility.

While my preferred hotel the Khan Saray was heaps nicer at USD30 and included breakfast, I wouldn’t have been generous enough to use it as a late check-out.  The Dolphin being the closest thing to a hostel in Sulaymaniyah was good for meeting people; the likelihood of that sealed my choice.

Colourful juice shop in the bazaar area.