Not Predictable or Telegraph

Not Predictable or Telegraph
Lome, Togo West Africa
Tuesday, April 17, 2007

A friend of mine is now in Arbi, Iraq, or Erbil Iraq

He wrote me from Arbil, I wish to give simple advice.

I say,
- Do not be Predictable or Telegraph.

I hope the telegraph word made him think, stuns him into consideration of the comment.

I do not wish for him to telegraph or send his intentions to people. I do not wish him to explain or tell people what he is doing. I do not want him to be predictable.

Not Predictable or Telegraph

Saddam Mass Murderer Execution

Saddam Mass Murderer Execution
Bangkok Thailand Southeast Asia
December 30, 2006

75,000 people killed in mass graves by Saddam Hussein

I left Khon Kaen, Thailand and traveled on a night bus to Bangkok, Thailand. It is now about 7:27 in the morning, I connected up with my GPRS connection and read,

- Official: Saddam to Be Executed Tonight -

I personally witnessed a mass grave site of 2500 Iraq people, on August 3, 2003 when I visited Iraq shortly after the major fighting stopped.
http://www.hobotraveler.com/122_07baghdad04.shtml

I have dwelled on the issue of "how many people," for a couple of years now. At the time I was in Iraq, they said there were about 30 more of these graves found around the country.

Therefore, 30 x 2500 is 75,000

This is my personal estimate as a witness to Saddam atrocities.

History will hopefully explain this better than the present day media, yet it appears to me that lead by President Bush and the American Soldiers, with the help of the Coalition of willing to protect the world countries, we have stopped a mass murderer.

Saddam has a legacy, he will now enter the ranks of Hitler, and Pol Pot and will forever be compared to them.

Photos and some explanations.
http://www.hobotraveler.com/122_07baghdad04.shtml

http://www.hobotraveler.com/122gravesmap.shtml
http://www.hobotraveler.com/122_07baghdad04.shtml
http://www.hobotraveler.com/122_07baghdad05.shtml
http://www.hobotraveler.com/122_07baghdad06.shtml
http://www.hobotraveler.com/122_08baghdad.shtml
http://www.hobotraveler.com/122_09baghdad.shtml
http://www.hobotraveler.com/122_10baghdad.shtml
http://www.hobotraveler.com/122_11baghdad.shtml
http://www.hobotraveler.com/122_12baghdad01.shtml
http://www.hobotraveler.com/122_12baghdad02.shtml
http://www.hobotraveler.com/122_12baghdad03.shtml

I would like to say thank you to George Bush, whatever the case, or present problems, he had the will to stop evil. Nothing may have gone right, maybe many mistakes have been made, but the decisions made, needed to be made, and someone walk up to the plate.

Saddam Mass Murderer Execution

DO NOT FORCE THE PLAY

I played basketball when I was younger.
I remember my coach jumping from the bleacher and running to me saying,
"Do not force the play!"
He was my 8th grade coach.
I have never forgot this, and know that patience is important.
Most travelers feel a need to see or go fast. Like the world will miss them. Like there is a better place ahead. This is dangerous and childish at the same time, saying in reality.
"I want what I want, and I want it now."
I could probably move 5 time faster, and am probably more equipped then the normal traveler. But what is the goal. To be where quickly. I want to enjoy this sojourn and not feel like I am working. I am having fun, and being a child in a good way.
I do not force the play to happen, I wait for the good life to come to me... hehehe
Life is good.

DEPENDENT UPON GAZAFER

My friend Gazafer form Ankara, Turkey is leaving today. I can already feel the language crunch. He has helped me immensely to translate. But the great part is my Kurdish will increase dramatically. This is always the problem with hanging around with English speaking people. It does not prepare you for the real country. Its an illusion of safety and control.

GUT FEELING ON RICHER

I keep getting this gut level feeling that the Kurdish Iraq side of border is richer then the Turkey side. The locals keep saying,
"You can buy that on the Iraq side."

SUNDAY DEPARTURE

My plan now is to leave on Sunday morning for Dohuk. It is very close. Only about 2 hours from here, but as with all border the flavor will probably change rapidly. Borders are not just country borders, but normally a culture border. This will not be so abrupt, because there is a Kurdish camaraderie and not a great separation. I believe now that to go into the Kurdish area is probably less dangerous than my travels in the country of Colombia. Plus so far the Kurdish culture is a higher level of civilization or development than most the developing countries I visit. I consider the Kurdish or Turkish cultures similar to Belgium or most of Central Europe. The quality of home is different but the people are similar, and maybe more optimistic in their family relationship. They are having large family while most of Europe now is doing anything they can to induce the indigenous people to have children.

WHAT IRAQ WANTS?

My friend from Baghdad explained to me.
The people of Iraq will not be happy until they have money, food, electricity and shelter. As always in life people want someone to take care of them. President John F. Kennedy said,
“It is not what your country can do for you,
It is what you can do for your country.”
The world has turned this around. It is always now,
There is almost never the best way. How can WE work together. There is a constant we against them. I believe this a byproduct of world press organizations. In the Bible one of the greatest of all sins is to cause “disharmony” among between people.

IN FRIENDLY TERRITORY

The World had an extreme misconception. They believe that people from the USA are everywhere in the world. The reason for this misconception is easy. The USA is the default culture classification. If a local person does not know where the person is form, then they label them as the USA.
What does that mean for my travels?
I as a person from the USA represent a 1 in 20 ratio. I am a minority as a citizen of the USA.
I am almost always the only person from the USA.
Well… Right now there are no travelers or tourist. Only me and this is great. I do not have to listen to any of the European noise , and on the other side. The Kurdish or Iraq people I meet love Americans. So in this area of the world life is extremely hospital and generous.

DOHUK PROBLEMS

My Taxi driver has decided to not go tommorrow. I am not sure I will wait for him. Zaho is les than 24 Kilometers from here. He says he will go on Sunday or Monday. Not good to wait for a Taxi drivers. They are right up there with Car Saleman and Reporters in reputation.

BAT CAVE

Hello,
I am trying to plan a trip to Iraq. It is hard to concentrate. The owner of the Hotel wants me to go to the city of "Batman" to see a cave. I say Batman, he says, "Baatmaan." I think we are not talking the same language.

THANKS TO THE HOTEL HABUR - SILOPI, TURKEY

Made a quick page to say thank you. I think 2nd time in 6 year. Air conditioning for a Hobo is not normal.
Hotel Habur

BATMAN

Did you know?
There is a city called Batman in Turkey.
Wonder if he lives there?
Look for Batman on Turkey / Iraq Border

WHERE IS THE WORLD? UN - Business People? Etc

I saw my first UN (United Nations) vehicle today. I was lucky. I was playing with my new camcorder and when I turned it on from the balcony of the Hotel. There it was.
But... It is my first in about 5 days.
I was thinking that this city. Silopi. Would be full of NGO's (Non Govermental Orgainizations) entering Iraq to help provide food and aid. One UN truck.

SILOPI IS EASY ROUTE FROM EUROPE.
Entering Syria would be the crazy way to haul food and aid to Iraq.
There does not seem to be any aid. No business people.
A few Iraq people leaving. But there does not seem to be Iraq people entering to live.
This is strange to me.
Not even some French or Germans going in to retrieve some of their weapons... hehehe.
I was expecting this place to be full of "Tree Huggers" and "Save the World" Hippie chicks.
Just me and a bunch of Engineers or people to do wth the trucking of Petro in and out of the country.

BOREDOM
I have been to the local restaruant 5 days in a row.
All men and no women.
You have to get married in this country.
That is the only way to talk with women... hehehe.
But I am having a good time. The Kurdish people are some of the funnest and warmest people I have ever met in my 6 years of travels.

LOVELY ROAD RECOMMENDATION IN IRAQ

This was a recommended path to take south from Turkey to the heart of Iraq.
"it's the back road between Irbil and Sulumanya... very up and down,
with a couple of large hills, but lovely. A place behind Sulumanya called
Ahmed something is also meant to be pleasant."
I now have 2 friends writing from Baghdad.

BUYING DOLLARS

Went to the Automatic Bank Machine or ATM in USA lingo and took out Lira.
I can purchase 300 Dollars USA for 430,000,000 Lira. Yesterday the price was 420,000,000.
Dollar are the currency of choice. To be safe. I always need some dollars.
I was crossing the border in Central American one time. They would not take the money from the country I was leaving, and would not take the money of the country I was entering.
I need Dollars for Iraq.

TIGRES RIVER ALONG THE EDGE OF SYRIA AND TO IRAQ

Chris sent a link to a very good map of the area where I am located.
I am in a city between Cizre and Zakhe. See how the spelling constantly changes with the word. Zaho.
I passed the Tigres River while on the bus. The driver kept pointing and saying,
"Suriye," he did not say Syria.
There is a tri-angle of the three countries.
Map - Bottom of Turkey, Top of Iraq
Map shows the rivers and mountains.

WMD WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

I was talking with the man from Baghdad. He has a PHD in Mechanical Engineering.,
I asked,
"Does Iraq have Weapons of Mass Destruction?"
He said,
"After the first war most were destoyed.
But Saddam wanted them and was trying.
But you have stopped the Weapon of Mass Destruction."
I said,
"What?"
He said,
"Saddam is the Weapon of Mass Destruction,
It is the person that wants and controls that is the problem."

MAP UNDER MY CONTROL

I have posted a map that I can sketch on and explain.
This is the page.
I go to Dohuk in the Kurdish area tommorrow.
Saturday.
Dohuk is just 80 or so miles into Turkey.
http://www.hobotraveler.com/iraqmap.htm

I am tying to give you a map with rivers.
The rivers and mountains are natural boundaries between cities and countries.
Plus there is often a major transition in cultures.
Cultures can change dramatically over a mountain.

COMPUTER HEADACHES

The internet compute functions in the Turkish language.
The letters are almost the same. They can look the same, but at the computer level they are different.
I have worked for 2 hours to get to this point today... aagh.
Plus one of the boys in the hotel was surfing the porn sites and they loaded up the computer with crap files...
tmps and such. Cache. etc.

I have the Hotel Computer clean now, and will defrag for them.
All this to get to here.

PHOTO OF SIGN TO ZAHO - HOME PAGE HOBOTRAVELER.COM

http://www.hobotraveler.com/

HELLO, WE ARE FRIENDS

I am sitting here behind the desk of the Harbur Hotel in Silopi, Turkey. A man is asking in English if the telephone can receive an international call. I answer for the manager that does not understand English,
"Yes, you can receive a call in your room. I did the other day. I am not sure if you can call out from the room."
He says,
"Thank you, good. I can talk to someone."
I ask him,
"Where are you from?"
He says,
"Baghdad."
I am a litle credulous. Hmm, why does he not know Kurdish I am thinking?
But the Kurdish and the Arabic are not big friends.
I reach out and shake hands,
He ask me where I am from and I say America.
He says,
"We are friends."
He is very happy to be able to leave the country. With Saddam he was not able to leave the country. He has a PHD from England, and wanted to return to visit. Very educated.
He showed me his Iraq passpor, and we discussed the future.
He said,
"I hope they give me an American passport by the end of the year."
I tried to get clarification, but he means something about travel papers authorized by the USA. He does not like that his passport has a picture of Saddam on it.
He said,
"They will capture Saddam in the next week."
He was checking in to his room, and left. I will talk with my friend later.

I STUDY THE TRANSITION FROM TURKEY - KURDISH - ARABIC

The boundaries of countries are losing value. I have discovered that the boundaries are the language. There are a certain number of cities that speak the Turkey language predominantly in Turkey and a certain number that speack Kurdish. To cross the border of Turkey to Iraq, it is more important to be certain which cities are Kurdish and which cities are Arabic. The Kurdish people seem to not be able to predict the actions of the Arabic people. The understand their own, and feel a confidence in explaining what they understand. I am getting very specific on which cities are under Kurdish control. If there is a question. I would not at this moment consider visiting. Baghdad is supppose to be Arabic. But may be different. A big city is normally very Secular in nature.

TAXI TO DOHUK

I have found a taxi to Dohuk. It cost 50 dollars USA from Silopi. I am working on the "Friend of a friend basis." I have people her in the hotel that are friends, and I can trust or must trust my instincts to understand and trust. This friend that works as a cargo shipping company sends people in and out of Iraq al the time. He is about 28, and I am trying to help him to go to Miami, Florida. He has a girlfriend there that he met in the chat rooms. But life is about relationships. But an honest person will gravitate towards honest people and an dishonest person will find the dishonest person. But it takes time to develop a friendship, so there is no quickness to the process.

FRENCH VS AMERICA

I have a person trying to call from the USA.
They cannot seem to figure out how to call me...
But a French Friend calls me at the Hotel.
This looks bad. Oh well. So much for the French jokes.
The read the telephone number below. Picked up the telephone and called.
hehehe

FIRST BOUNCE OFF IRAQ BORDER

Went to the border of Iraq and Turkey this morning. There is a sign or a small something. Maybe a town at the border called Habur. There was a line of petro trucks about 1 kilometer long waiting to enter. I am told they take Liquid Propane Gas and Benzene into the country and return with crude oil. This is not confirmed. Just and interpretation by Turkey man.

COLECTIVO TAXI
I got in a colectivo taxi. There was a vendor boy trying to help me. He said the price was 750,000 Lira or about 50 cents USA. But at the end the driver wanted 1 Million. As soon as I got out of the Taxi I was at the front of the line of trucks. There was a Turkey Military office in front of me, and the 1 kilometer line of petro trucks behind me. I turned around and took a very quick photo of the trucks before the guards would want to talk with me. I turned back around and they came runner over giving me order in the Turkish language.
I had my Camcorder and Sony Mavica camera inside my small backpack and was using my Creative Webcam camera. It was very cheap, and very small. Perfect for dodgy areas.

The young soldier grabbed my camera and took it.
Giving me order in Turkish language and by his hand to follow.
I smiled and followed back to the checkpoint office.
Suddenly about 5 soldiers were around me all talking in Turkish.
It may have been Kurdish language, but I can not tell the difference.

The called a higher ranking officer. None of them was older than age 30, and probably more like 20.
The commander spoke a few English hotels. I pointed at the truck. Pointed at the camera, then I held up 1 finger trying to say,
"I only took one photo."
The camera is a webcam and sort of silly looking. It is not a big Nikon with a zoom.
So the gave me the camera back.
Ask which hotel I was in, and my name.
I said, "Andy"
The then shook my hand started to smile and introduced all the soldier to me.
I tried to pronounce the names. The all relaxed.
I told them I was from America.
The do not understand the words "United States."
The pointed at a collectivo taxi... Like go back that way toward Silopi.
I said,
"Permission"
Meaning, I want permission to cross.
I have some friends at the hotel that could come and translate.

But I did not learn much and strangely. I did not see any sign of American soldiers.

There is supposed to be UN vehicles crossing. But I have not seen any.
It was fun. The people are much more nervous meeting me, then I am meeting them.
But than again. I meet new people every day, all the time. This is normal for me.

I hopped in a collectivo VAN and road back toward Silopi.
A boy collected 750,000 and I was happy.
I tapped the driver on the back to stop when I saw the sign that led to Habur and Zoho, Iraq.
I jumped out. Almost fell over a truck batter. Waved goodbye.
Walked over to a milelage sign.
I belived it said.
Habur 14
Zoho 26
I have photos and will put one up to view soon.
The Zoho is in Iraq.
This is an oil border.
I am also going to have to oil the works by finding a taxi driver or local to help
me converse wth the border officials.
There are some seedy types hanging around that wish to help me.
I will find a nice person and get the owner of the Hotel to give him the OK.
Than go for another bounce off the border.
I will do this until they know me, and laugh.
The will probably make me drink Tea.
I cannot leave the hotel without people offering or inviting me in for Tea at least 2 times.
I wish I liked Tea.

NOBODY LEAVES THE HOTEL... HEHEHE

I have been walking around this small city.
I am in the what I think is the most expensive Hotel in the city.
15 dollars per night.
Air and BBC and Tea served on a minutes notice.
But... No one seems to leave the city.
This is a wonderful city. Full of normal culture.
Working and living their lives.
But all the residents act as if there is nothing to do.
Strange. This place if full of interesting people that love to talk.
Too bad I do not talk Kurdish.

PURCHASED TURKEY / ENGLISH DICTIONARY
I purchased a dictionary this morning. I wanted a Kurdish / English dictionary.
The said the only have Kurdish / Turkey dictionaries.
It almost appears like the world discounts the Kurdish population.
With both... I could decipher a word very slowly.
The purchase cost me.
I had to sit and talk, and drink another tea.
This seem to be the cost of any purchase.
I need to have a chat.
Small price, and I am getting a great value.

NEWSLETTER SENT TODAY

Hello,
I sent out my weekly when I get around to it Newsletter.
It has all the pictures I took in the last week.
http://www.hobotraveler.com/newsletterhobo117.php

TELEPHONE AT IRAQ BORDER / SILOPI

SNAFU an appropriate acronym
Situation
Normal
All
F@$@^$^%ed
UP

Maybe you have a wild hair. Here is my telephone number.
I am in room 107
011 to leave USA

011

I think...?

011 90 486 518 13 79

011 90 486 518 42 28

There is an outside possiblity of

011 0090 etc.
The business card the have is not correct.
They do not speak English well.

Say... Andy Andy Andy or American American hehehe
Andy

IRAQ BORDER HOTEL - Border Business

I am ýn a very nýce Hotel on the border
15 Kilometers more or less.
It is full of Business men or boys. They are not that old.
I have a friend here that speaks good English.
He is trying to export products from Iraq, and it is very interesting to hear about all the difficulties. He has a Kurdish partner that is from this city. Silopi. The man has 2 wives and 14 children. The Kurdish guy is suppose to go across the border today to try to make a deal.

The Kurdish man said that something are more important then money. There was about 5000 Kurdish people killed by Saddam. Some of these people were friends or family. He is happy that Saddam is dead. My other friend from Ankara is translating. But I understand the meaning of pulling his hand across his throat like he is cutting the throat of Saddam.

I have to be careful here. If I so much as stop. They ask me in for Tea. It is hard to walk along the street and make it to my destination. Just too many inviitations.

KIDS
One of my favorite movies is "The Razors Edge." With Bill Murray as a lost soul traveling the world like me. He goes to this one place and give a coin to a kid. Than another starts to follow. Soon the whole village is chasing him and he is running to escape. I am not sure yesterday. But there must have been at least 15 following me. I did not give them any coins. The keep saying,
"How are you? What is your name?"
The do not ever seem to understand the answers.
But this is good fun.

NORMAL FOR ME TO BE LOOKED AT...

I am glad I am used to people staring. It does not bother me after 6 years.
Here in Silopi everyone watches my every step.
I am not sure why. I would think that Americans came here in the past in great quanities. Maybe they was going to use a different border to cross. I am going to try to take a mini-van to the border tommorrow to take photos.

Sorry to hear about Bob Hope.
I have BBC in my room.

TURKEY MAN WANT TO TALK - BORDER OPEN

A man that is trying to export goods form Iraq wanted to talk.
I thought it was funny. He is from Ankara and speaks the Turkey language. He said all the people in this area speak Kurdish and he does not speak Kurdish.

He also said the Border was open and safe to cross. At least to the first city.
Said it cost 50 dollars USA to enter.

BEADS ON THE BUS

A Kurdish man by the name of Aly gave me some beads on the bus from Urfa to Silopi. We had a mime like conversation for a couple of hours. I ate a couple types of food. A pickle I think, and a flat piece of very think dough. Like a tortilla with a hot red sauce. It was called an Al Muhadarin or something close to that.

I have written down both the name for the bead in Kudish and in Arabic. Will probably put in the newsletter. I forgot to bring the paper notes with me to the internet cafe.

People place these beads in their hand, and sort of twirl them. I think they may be called prayer beads. I will slowly discover the correct answer.

15 KILOMETERS FROM IRAQ

Hello,
I am in Sipoli. I was worried that it would be small city and have no services. Like a bank, internet, and ATM machines, but this place so far has everything a person could need. I only arrive about 1/2 hour ago. Checked into a room. All this went very easily. Everyone seems to pay a lot of attention.

The city is an oil town I believe. There is a tank truck every 2 minutes that passes on the road to Iraq. I remember on CNN they showed during the war that the trucks were crossing over a mountain and into Iraq. It may have been talking about an illegal entrance, but as best I can tell so far. This place is very modern.
Of course in the Western eyes it may appear very crude and rough. But I have been in hundreds of cities like this, and this one is very modern.

EXAMPLE:
The have cement trucks and do not mix the concrete with shovels.
The size of the wheat fields and the numerous tractors is another sign.
A tractor can be rare in lots of countries.

This reminds me of northern Argentina. Maybe Kansas of the USA or possilby southern parts of Brazil. All the land outside the city is planted with Wheat, Pickles and what I think are potatoes.

I am going to walk around the town and see the people.
So far everthing seem outrageously safe.
Not just a little safe, but very safe.
The people or the at least the Kurdish people seem to love Americans.
I think most of the tourist areas have been hurt a lot by the war, and they are making their decisions on their desire to make money.
A vote with their pocketbook.

ADVICE FROM CHRIS

Chris has been reading my newsletters for a long time. It is easy to start to think too much. To second guess myself. To maybe think I do not know what I am doing. I got a reminder from Chris.

QUOTE:
See you on the map now. Trust your instincts and live by your
wits...just like usual.
best,
Chris
END

EXCHANGE RATE OF MONEY IN IRAQ

This is some information I received on the money situation in Iraq from
my Russian friend living there.

QUOTED:
...unfortunately in Iraq there are no ATM or banks where you could cash TC. SO you better to have a cash with you. They prefer 100 USD bills. For example if you change 100 bill the rate will be 1650. If you change 20 bills the rate will be 1600. If you change 1 bills the rate will be 1550.
(Name)
P.S. Despite all of this Iraq is a cheap country. Expect to spend here
10-15
USD per day (hotel extra).
END

This guy is good.
He has his finger on the pulse.

MONEY IN IRAQ

I need to get serious about money situation.
I just wrote my Russian friend in Baghdad.
I want to know if for... (HOPE)... some reason there are ATM or Bank Machines that work in the country.
I have no idea what is the money situation in a country after they lose a war.

OWNER OF INTERNET CAFE ASKING QUESTIONS

I am sitting here sending photos to my webpage with an FTP program. (File Transfer Protocol)
The manager or owner of the internet cafe is asking lots of question.
There is some type of translater from Turkey to English on the computer I am using right now.
He ask what I do... I say, "Webpage" and I show him my page.
He then ask,
"What religion?"
He types this into the translater.
Christian comes up as Hristiyan.
So in the Turkey language. This the word for Christian.
He than find the Turkey word for...
"Respect"
Puts his hand together like a prayer, and bows to me.

SILOPI

I must be dyslexic. I spell this city wrong all the time.
It is the one closest to the Turkey / Iraq border.

YES BUSH OR NO BUSH

The locals first want to know. What country I am from? Then they want to know the state?
After the country they say,
"Bush" (That is one of the few English words or names they know.)
After the state of Indiana, they say,
"Indiana Jones or Indianapolis Pacers."
The ones that speak English pretty well talk the rhetoric of the newspapers and television. The taxi drivers, and the normal working class normally give a thumbs up or a nod of the head.

When I say they talk the rhetoric of the newspaper, I mean they repeat the ideas proported by the media. Mostly negative about Bush. Saying,
"The world does not like Bush." Something you would hear on television. But not necessarily true.
A lot of times they talk about President Clinton. I thought President Clinton did a good job, but I can not really say what happened in his office of importance. Maybe NAFTA. But I am positive he went out in the world and tried to get all the people to like him.
I personally believe that a good leader of a business, country or a coach of a basketball team will be both hated and loved.
Bobby Knight the basketball coach of Indiana, University is a good example of this concept.

MAN FROM TURKEY... SAID BORDER IS CLOSED

A man on the bus said,
"Turkey has closed the border because of disagreements with the USA."
Who knows? I will go to the border and see for sure.
If nothing else it will be very interesting to talk to the border crossing official.
But for me the most fun will to be see all the strange types that for some reason want to cross
at this border... and why?

CHRIS WITH A MAP RESCUE

My good friend, and one of the worlds greatest internet surfers has helped again.
He is very very good at finding information on any subject. It is amazing.
A page packed with maps of Iraq. Thanks Chris.
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/iraq.html#iraq_city.html

TELEPHONE IN URFA

I am in room 215
Telephone number
From the USA you need: 011
90 414 215 46
Today is Sunday. 27 of July, 2003.
I leave tommorrow. If you are reading this after that date... Too late.

WHEAT FIELDS IN TURKEY

I was on the all night bus from Istanbul to Urfa. This city is located close to the Iraq border, but is not the closest. It is modern and clean. I am sure many people would say differently, but I have been in lots of very dry and dusty areas. This place is great in comparison.

WHEAT
I pass wheat fields as I was leaving Istanbul and before the sun went down, and as we traveled the last 250 Kilometers to the city of Urfa. I was expecting small one family farms. More on the subsistence level. I was totally wrong. This is obviously an extremely modern operation. I could sometime see freshly harvested wheat fields for as far as I could see. It was marvelous. I would have love to have been here before the harvest.

Plus they have orchards of Pistachios and another type of grain or maybe Olives. I am not sure. But they go for as far as you can see also.
I am so happy this country has lots of grain and food.

The building are the normal red brick type, with a layer of concrete over to make the exterior flat. The same constrution as most of Central and South America. More similiar to the Latino methods than the Southeast Asia methods. They have lots of space outside the cities, but probably very little water because it is rather hilly.

HOW YOU ENTER A DANGEROUS AREA

The world is like a big city.
There are dangerous areas.
But normally everyone knows where these area are and avoids them or are extra careful.
The world is like that.
A bus driver. A taxi and the locals will not normally take you to a dangerous
area without a big discussion.
The real dangerous situation is to have a car and a guide.
I believe the best guide is the other people around you.
I have been on multiple buses where the locals suddenly told me to behave in a certain
way for an inspection of the bus.
But for instance, the buses in Colombia will not run when the Drug Dealers are bombing the road.
This is normally the same.
So going to the next safe location.
Staying there, listening to other coming from the direction you are proceeding.
Than only whey you know the good path. Proceed.

GOING TO URFA AND THAN SIPOLI / Iraq Border

The Turkey / Iraq border cross ins more or Sipoli.
It looks on the map maybe 3- 5 hour from Mosul.
I am leaving shortly to catch a bus to Urfa.
Not easy to find the bus schedules so I am winging it .
It appears to be about 24 hour in a bus.

ACCOMODATIONS IN INSTANBUL

I would ONLY stay in Sultanahmet area.
Unless you totally want to miss the Turkey culture... Not really but more than in the modern side... Hyatt and such.
Tourist .. Best Western is most cultural.
Party people. Orient Hostel.
Cheap Hostel and very nice and calm. Antique
Cheap room and very nice. Admirials.
There are lots of rooms for around 25 Dollars that I would feel is good for anyone.

Hostel Dorms are 10 Million per person.
Cheap rooms are about 15 Million.

CHAT ON PAGE

For your information. I have a chat room on my page.
http://www.hobotraveler.com/chat/index.php

MAYBE I GO TO BORDER NOW

I am leaving tommorrow for the Turkey / Iraq border. Since they killed two of Sadaam sons in Mosul. It is possible for me to be in Mosul within 2 or 3 days. If I WANT. I am not saying that is what I will do. I will sit on a border and feel out the situation. Try to buddy up with some locals. Find some local clothes also.

If you go the link below: CLICK on C8 there is a boder town by the name of Silope.I am hoping they have internet, but there is not way other than to go to check. The turkey border is maybe closed. Way too much gossip.
I will have a Syria Visa so I can always go to Syria and start working my way around Iraq to the south.
GOOD MAP OF TURKEY

TURKEY SO FAR VERY MODERN AND SAFE

Turkey or Istanbul is very modern. Absolutely no reason for the average dingaling to visit.
Great architecture, food, and the people are extremely polite. Reminds me of Belgium

SYRIA VISA APPLICATION DAY

Left the Guesthouse early. The Syria Consulate is open only from 9:30 to 11:00.
Took a bus for 1 million Lira to Taksim. That is an area. I had about 1/2 hour to walk to the place, but there were almost 0 street signs, and I am starting to think that Turkey people give directions like the Latinos. They will always give directions whether they know or not.

Finally flagged down a Taxi. Got closer.

I had the father in the Guesthouse earlier write the address in the Turkey Language.
He could not understand either. But the taxi drive did.

Suriye Konsolos Luk
Maçka Cadesı NoL 59/5
Open 9:30-11:00 I think.
232-6721 or 232-7110

Small d