October 31, 2005
Frank and I have been in Iraqi Kurdistan for nearly a week now--today we took a lovely drive in the countryside and visited a number of old friends.
Last Wednesday (10/26), we flew from Izmir in western Turkey to Diyarbakir in eastern Turkey. From the airport, we left directly for the border as it was already 12 noon. We were more than 20 miles from the border when the line of fuel trucks began. Sometimes in a single line and sometimes in a double line, Turkish fuel trucks lined the right side of the road as far as the eye could see. Frank and I estimated that the line contained somewhere between 2,000-3,000 fuel trucks. We learned that the tanker drivers spend anywhere from 5 to 20 days waiting in this endless queue--sleeping, cooking, playing cards--or just waiting.As we got nearer to the border, a line of trucks carrying other types of goods began to line the left side of the road, while the fuel trucks continued to line the right side of the road. As we got within 1-2 km of the border, the four-lane highway became impassable. The two lanes on the right were blocked with parked trucks. The far left-hand lane was also filled with parked trucks that were headed TOWARD the border. Trucks were also parked along the shoulders of the road. That left only one lane open for cars (like us) to get to the border AND for cars and trucks to come FROM the border.
We could see through the gaps between vehicles that some cars and trucks had left the highway completely and were driving through the fields. Our driver had to back up until he found a place where he could drive off the highway, and then we, too, began to drive through the fields. When we got near the border, there was no way to break back through the jungle of vehicles (there was no semblance of lines anymore) to get to the customs post. After a few minutes, we saw a Turkish army jeep that was forcing vehicles to move so that it could get to customs. Our driver quickly got behind the jeep and followed it to customs.Surprisingly, no one stopped us as we entered the Passport/Customs area through an official-looking gate--one that was not meant for use by travelers. The driver handled the paperwork for us, but the Turkish border guard seemed to find some problem with Frank's passport and didn't want to let him leave the country. Just the day before, we had left and re-entered Turkey without any problems when we visited Samos (Greece). This suggests that the problem was with this particular border and NOT Frank's passport.
When we arrived in Kurdistan, we asked a number of people about this near-closure of the border. On and off for more than a year, the Turks have either closed or "squeezed" the border at random intervals. What was the reason for this latest spasm? One of the likeliest explanations appears to be that when President Bush met recently with Masoud Barzani, he addressed him as "President Barzani". President of what? The President of Iraq is Jalal Talibani. During the recent elections here, Masoud Barzani was elected President of the Kurdistan Regional Government.
The Turks are adamant about the fact that there is no such place as Kurdistan. They complained vigorously to the US government about Bush's comment--and coincidentally (?) we found ourselves in the middle of this near stale-mate at the border. This situation is adding to/causing a fuel shortage in Kurdistan. Although there are oil wells here, there are no refineries. Oil has to be sent to Turkey where it is refined--and then shipped back to Kurdistan.
The rest of the trip from the border to Erbil was uneventful, and by now we have been back in "eagle country" for nearly a week. The eagle is the symbol of the KDP (Kuridstan Democratic Party)--which is the predominant party in the northern part of Iraqi Kurdistan.
Besides several pictures from the traffic jam on the Turkish side of the border, I attach two of Frank.
It is wonderful to be back in Kurdistan with our good friends.
