Cooldadiomedia

Changes in Erbil - Iraq Project II

Bob Keith — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:15:05 GMT

The Road To Erbil, Capital of the Kurds - Iraq Project II

Bob Keith — Tue, 13 May 2008 04:23:38 GMT

This is a reposting of my Iraq Project II. I will post a dispatch-entry Monday thru Friday until the original project is recreated. The real-time journey was posted by The Janesville Gazette in February and March, 2008.

The Road to Erbil, Iraq - Capital of the Kurds
posted February 27, 200

    Before I left Dahuk, I stopped for a lamb, potato, and bread breakfast at a sandwich shop around the corner from the transportation street. I got some money exchanged around the next corner in the exchange basement. I could not find the guy that served me coffee there. That is not unusual. I exchanged some Dollars at yet another Assyrian's stall. They always seem to mention they are Assyrian and Christian. The ride east to Erbil cost 20,000 Dinars - about 16 Bucks. Not bad considering it will probably take a couple hours.

    - The Citadel peaks out from the banal streets of Erbil - the capital of the Kurds,
        photo by Bob Keith, February 2008 -

    The car had three other passengers as well. As usual, the driver stayed around 70 miles per hour. For our enjoyment he put in an Arabic music cassette. The roads are hilly and bad - the taxis are poorly maintained. There must always be a cracked windshield to top off the presentation. At this point, you just have to resign yourself that this may be the day you die. Not at the hands of bad guys, but in a car accident. Seatbelts? ...what ever. Everybody have a smoke.

    As he did last year, the driver veered south toward the Mosul sign. But I knew at about 24 kilometers north of that city he would turn east again. Mosul is not American or Kurd friendly. We trekked down some rural roads in the "middle world" between the Kurdish and Iraq-proper region. There were some middle-world check points - the Kurdish flag disappeared. The unmarked soldiers at these stops seemed indifferent to what they were suppose to be doing - watching for bad guys. Perhaps it is just a different checkpoint style.

    - The desire to be so "normal," yet it is a war zone, Erbil, Iraq,
        photo by Bob Keith, February 2008 -

    Soon the Kurdish flag appeared again on buildings and compounds. The ride into Erbil changed from last year. The city is being built up like gang busters. Commercial airliners drift across the skyline. Erbil, or Hewler as the Kurds call it, is the capital city of the Republic of Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government. It is their flagship bureaucratic city. Yet, the old city still seems for me, foreboding to enter. There is an odious castle (Citadel) on the hill in the center of town. Many of the streets are utilitarian with masses of electrical wires hanging nearly to the side walk. The store fronts in the old city beneath the castle have seen better days. The roofs are often sheets of tin. The generators roar. I am told however, they are building a monstrosity of a shopping mall near here as we speak.

    - Generator Man; the real source of power at my hotel in Erbil, Iraq.
    Photo by Bob Keith, February 2008 -

    And of course, the people at the little hotel I used last year outside the wall to the castle could not seem to figure out how to log me in. I retreated to a bigger hotel I also used last year which I deemed too expensive at 30 Dollars a night.

    - Internet cafe in Erbil, Iraq, photo of Bob by an Internet customer, February 2008 -

    There is heat in the room, a seated toilet, and an actual chair and desk. But as fate would have it, it is warm in this part of Iraq now anyway. Go figure. Be that as it may, Heide will be glad I moved to the nicer hotel.

Bob Keith
Erbil, Iraq

Notes from Dahuk, Iraq - Iraq Project II

Bob Keith — Sat, 10 May 2008 21:19:43 GMT

Signs of Progress in Dahuk, Iraq - Iraq Project II

Bob Keith — Sat, 10 May 2008 21:01:43 GMT

From Zakho to Dahuk, Iraq - Iraq Project II

Bob Keith — Wed, 07 May 2008 18:57:01 GMT

This is a reposting of my Iraq Project II. I will post a dispatch-entry Monday thru Friday until the original project is recreated. The real-time journey was posted by The Janesville Gazette in February and March, 2008.

From Zakho to Dahuk Iraq
posted February 26, 2008

    I headed to the enormous Zahko taxi garage and found the Dahuk drivers right where they were last trip - in the best spot with a seated waiting area and snack vendors. The ride to Dahuk cost five Bucks. Not bad considering it is about 20 miles or so to the southwest through some winding roads. It is cheaper though if you ride with other people in the car. I share the ride with a couple of businessmen and a Peshmerga soldier. The driver stopped at one point after a big hill, got out, and beat the underside of the engine with a rock from the side of the road. Something was gummed up. It never ceases to amaze me that nothing goes right here, and then I am equally amazed they always squeak themselves out of a jam.

    - Taxi Garage Zakho, Iraq - phoho by Bob Keith, February 2008 -

    I might mention at this point that the Peshmerga are the Kurdish Region of Iraq's army. They are primarily Kurds as far as I can tell. They run their own show for the most part. I have noticed as I trav el east their uniforms seem to change. The west Kurds and the east Kurds have fought a civil war in the not so distant past. They have now merged their two political wings into one. The Peshmerga walk amongst the people. They often carry their machine guns and pistols into shops and cafes. Their uniforms very in color and camouflage design. I suspect there is many theifdoms within the Peshmerga. Perhaps a Kurdish society expert could straighten me out on that.

    The Peshmerga became a concern last time because the eastern Peshmerga did not understand the writing the western authorities had put in my passport. I was detained for a bit near Halabja in the far eastern area of Northern Iraq. It also seems their may be fringe elements that operate under the auspice of the Peshmerga. This is disconcerting at the many regional check points I must negotiate throughout the country.

    As long as I continue to see the Kurdish flag I know I am in relatively safe hands. But safety is always subjective anywhere in Iraq. The Kurds want international support. So safety prowess and a timbre of security is the theme of the day. Yet, private guards, security police, and of course the Peshmerga are everywhere. It is a paradox - it is safe because they are here, yet if it is safe, why are they so urgent in numbers? It is hard to take pictures because a soldier or police officer of some order is usually within my focus. They do not really like to be photographed while on the job.

    The Kurdish flag has a distinct yellow star that its on the red, white and green horizontal strips. It is everywhere here. The Iraqi flag is nowhere here. The Kurdish flag is even more prevalent in these cities away from the border. When I start to see the Iraqi flag on my journeys south of here I know I am getting into an area out of the Kurd's protection. The Kurd / Iraqi bo rder to the south does not seem static to me. It seems to be in a constant flux. You must be very careful in those middle world areas between north and south of Iraq.

    - The distinct Kurdish flag, Dohuk, Iraq, photo by Bob Keith, February 2008 -

    I have noticed a distinct rise in the number of soldiers and police on the streets of Dahuk this trip. I have also noticed that their vehicles have been upgraded this trip. Their vehicles seem new and streamlined.

    As well, I have noticed a distinct rise in the number of newer cars that citizens drive. I saw a new Ford Mustang today. Some of the citizens here obviously have more cash than me. There are of course plenty of people here - probably most - of humble means. To the question of credit cards in Iraq, this year I have found a type of trade office that boasts an ATM machine and credit cards. Hopefully the electricity does not go off as you are in the middle of a transaction.

Bob Keith
Dahuk, Iraq

First Day in Iraq - Iraq Project II

Bob Keith — Wed, 07 May 2008 18:44:03 GMT

Getting into Iraq - Iraq Project II

Bob Keith — Mon, 05 May 2008 00:29:59 GMT

This is a reposting of my Iraq Project II. I will post a dispatch-entry Monday thru Friday until the original project is recreated. The real-time journey was posted by The Janesville Gazette in February and March, 2008.

Getting into Iraq
posted February 25, 2008

    We headed to the Iraqi border around noon. My driver sped past the miles of waiting supply trucks about sixty-five miles per hour. He stopped for a moment to put a liter soda bottle of gas in his car. He was riding on empty. He threw the bottle in the back and then of course, lite up a cigarette and offered one to me one. I passed and just rolled down the window. Dust flew and dirt covered everything.

    The Turkish guards were at lunch. My driver kept going into buildings to bother them and get the correct stamps on our passports. All the time, with a cigarette in his mouth. At some point we picked up a young traveler to also take across. He seemed about 18 years old - maybe a worker. On at least two occasions, irritated officials sent us back to get re-stamped, claiming some glitch - the price of interrupting lunch.

    As expected, there was an auto fee that needed to be paid. Another twenty dollars. I waited with bated breath for the next new fee different from last year. I did not have to wait long. The driver pulled into the no-man's-land gas station and I had to fill up his car for 50 Dollars. This year I did not have to stop at the doctor's trailer for a count-the-fingers-and-toes exam. Perhaps he too was at lunch. Last year's exam cost one Dollar. So I saved a Buck this year.

    The Turks seemed glad to see me. But of course it has been suggested the American government gave a wink and a nod to their recent invasion of Iraq. On the other side, unlike the happy greeting I got last time, the Iraqi Kurds on the other hand, were cold this year. I had to wait a half hour while their plain cloths police sized me up. The second visit in 18 month worried them as well. They did serve us all tea while we waited.

    At some point we lost the young man who had tagged along. He had g otten across - he vanished into the mass of trucks and border buildings. The stern-faced passport cop gave me my passport back and said, "Don't go to Mosul." When I looked up to shake his hand he had already turned and left. A guard outside who had been watching the minor drama of what to do with the only American within miles, inspected my bag apologetically and looked over his shoulder to the office and them shook my hand and said, "Welcome my friend." My driver nodded but did not crack a smile. His job was almost done.

    I checked the final entry stamp. Last year they stamped the wrong date which got me detained later in that trip. Fool me once...

    A bit into Iraq we stopped at a taxi garage. It will no doubt be one of the most legitimate ones I use on this whole trip. As usual, all the drivers had to weigh in on getting the American on down the road. It was decided a Kurd about 60 years old and in full Kurdish dress and head gear would do the job. He insisted on giving me a round-the-town tour of Zakho. We passed the old stone bridge all the pre-Saddam tour books talk about but no one can find. The five mile ride cost another 10 dollars.

    The whole ordeal from Silopi, Turkey to Zakho, Iraq took about an hour and a half. For 140 Dollars I have left for sure, what Americans might call one of the strangest countries on earth. And with that same nominal fee as well, I have in turn entered perhaps, one of the most dangerous countries on earth.

Bob Keith
Zakho, Iraq

Near the border of Iraq - Iraq Project II

Bob Keith — Sun, 04 May 2008 23:20:13 GMT

Final prep and staging - Iraq Project II

Bob Keith — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:11:27 GMT

This is a reposting of my Iraq Project II. I will post a dispatch-entry Monday thru Friday until the original project is recreated. The real-time journey was posted by The Janesville Gazette in February and March, 2008.

Final prep and staging for Iraq
posted February 24, 2008

    Today was a day to regroup in quiet Midyat, Turkey and review my plan to enter Iraq. I will leave a bag at my hotel. I will enter Iraq with only one small duffel bag. There are convenient areas in Northern Iraq where multiple bags are fine, but there are just as many remote areas where too many bags are a burden.

    A handful of things are essential for a trip like this: Passport; cash; international cell phone; digital camera with computer cable; paper towels; and, a flash light. Everything else can be scrounged up on the road if needed.

    Turkey seems to save its international impact moves and then pull them out all at the same time - and it would seem, while I am in-country as well. Their president just approved a lifting of a ban on head scarfs in universities. Even though Turkey is 99 percent Muslim, they have tried to implement a sec ular culture for decades. This move is seen by some as a trend toward slipping back to a more Islamic society.

    - Syria looms down the hill. Heading left on the pic, Iraq is just on the horizon.
It is here on both trips that I paused - even hesitated - before going into Iraq.
Photo by Bob Keith, February 2008 -

    Turkey has also apparently sent a sizable military force into Kurdish Northern Iraq in the last couple days. There is no sign of activity where I am at here near the border. The mountains in Northern Iraq are like any other mountains - vast and complicated to navigate. Suffice it to say then, somewhere north of me, the Turks are in Iraq. You would not know they have done anything by the mood here. But, this region of the world has been at war off and on for centuries. People apparently are not easily jolted into taking notice. This action by Turkey speaks to how delicate our American situation is with the region. Both Turkey and the Kurds of Iraq are our allies.

    Someone asked on the GazetteXtra blog if you can use credit cards in Turkey. The answer is yes. But, expect to find fewer shops and hotels that use them the farther east you go and the remoter the areas are. Forget about ATM or credit cards in Iraq. Iraq does not have a banking system for the public that is visible. Last trip I had to go to street money-changers - very biblical so to speak. I went to a bank once and they shooed me to a jewelry store next door to get some Iraqi Dinar.

    Just one last footnote on money. The dollar has fallen significantly to both the Iraqi Dinar and the Turkish Lira since my last visit to the region. In October of 2006 I could get approximately 1.50 Turkish Lira to one Dollar. Now you get 1.17 Lira. In October of 2006 I got approximately 1500 Iraqi Dinar to one Dollar. I hear now it is more like 1200 to the Dollar. This is troubling considering as I mentioned, Iraq does not really even have a viable banking system that I could see.

Bob Keith
Midyat, Turkey

Preparing for Iraq - Iraq Project II

Bob Keith — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:37:09 GMT

This is a reposting of my Iraq Project II. I will post a dispatch-entry Monday thru Friday until the original project is recreated. The real-time journey was posted by The Janesville Gazette in February and March, 2008.

Preparing for Iraq
posted February 23, 2008

    I bid my Assyrian friend goodbye until I retrace my steps later in the trip and just about froze my hands walking to the bus garage in Mardin. I have moved down the road to the east to a town called Midyat, Turkey. It is about 60 miles from Iraq. There are two Midyats. East Midyat which I am in, and Midyat proper. There was one Turkish check point on the way but they just flagged the van through. The way these van rides are done is you just holler up to the driver and hope he stops where you want - in my case in front of my hotel.

    At some point I changed my wrist watch to Turkish time. It is eight hours ahead of Janesville time here.

    I am in the Internet shop in the basement of a building a block down from my hotel. I must wear four layers on top and sweat pants under my cargo pants. I have had my stocking cap on for the whole trip. Today is no exception. There is no heat in here. It is probably 25 degrees Fahrenheit out side. They do however have a five foot by five foot big screen TV in an open area by the door to watch soccer. A couple light bulbs hang from cords in the seating area of bent metal and leaning plastic chairs. Full ash trays are everywhere. All I need is fingerless gloves and Charles Dickens meets George Orwell - Midyat, Turkey version.

    - The quiet streets of Midyat, Turkey; an ideal staging location,
       photo by Bob Keith, February 2008 -

    Midyat is my staging place to rest and prepare to enter Iraq. My hotel is a palace compared to the Internet shop. The beds are soft. The blankets are warm. The towels are clean. The room is heated. There are TV channels from every country in Europe and the Middle East. The rooms are colorful and the room doors actually lock. The water is cold, but the breakfast of Yentl soup and thin bread makes up for it. There is always coffee and tea.

    I will stay here a day or so to regroup, rest, and tie up any loose ends before I enter Iraq. The people in the shops and hotel are nice and remember me from last trip. Midyat has an old Europe timbre to it. The streets are coble stone. A donky pulling a cart can be seen every so often. A variety of small shops line my patient street. There are a couple of welcoming cafes nearby. There is an absence of soldiers and police. No one seems to be in too big a hurry. It is easy to forget there is a war down the road a bit.

Bob Keith
Midyat, Turkey

Banking in Turkey - Iraq Project II

Bob Keith — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:26:05 GMT

This is a reposting of my Iraq Project II. I will post a dispatch-entry Monday thru Friday until the original project is recreated. The real-time journey was posted by The Janesville Gazette in February and March, 2008.

Banking in Turkey
posted February 22, 2008

    I learned by accident last time that there is no better place to visit the nuances of Turkish culture than in the bank. This time is no different. Today, it took an hour to just get some U.S. Dollars exchanged for Turkish money. Traveler checks - forget it. Although banks are ubiquitous in Turkey, the lines are long and each service is an ordeal. Last year it took 20 minutes to negotiate each check. Too bad for you if you use 25 Dollar checks and need 500 Dollars changed. Better book another night in town.

    If you visit Turkey, force yourself to wait for the bank door to open in the morning. They close at noon for lunch. Go after lunch at your own peril. There are usually only two tellers. So ingrained is the dot-matrix-speed banking culture here, you must take a number - waiting areas with chairs are for your convenience. Members of the bank - which come in a steady stream - take a number that will jump ahead of your non-member number.

    People finally get fatigued with the wait and not so subtly sneak in line. The teller must also answer the phone which rings constantly. People sneak next to you while you wait at the counter and lean and hover over your business. Having rode on many packed buses in Viet Nam and Turkey this hovering no longer bothers me. If you are doing business in a cubicle, they bring you tea. Last year because I was a foreign visitor, I was given tea as well.

    Today a weathered farmer got mad at the female teller while at the counter. The security guard took him back to a cubical for tea, a cigarette, and a chat. In a bit they had to throw him out. Before my number in line came up, the farmer came back with wife and kids to yell his complaints some more. The guard, bank manager, and some bystanders then had to usher them all out again.

    While the ruckus was going on, the female teller said she remembered me from last trip. That should not surprise anyone, considering I twice spent a couple hours in her line. She said she lived in New York for a bit so this was actually an easy day. I told her, "Go Yankees."

    Great theater - this job is easy - I do not have to search for the culture - it finds me.

Bob Keith
Mardin, Turkey

Experiencing Turkey - Iraq Project II

Bob Keith — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:48:35 GMT

This is a reposting of my Iraq Project II. I will post a dispatch-entry Monday thru Friday until the original project is recreated. The real-time journey was posted by The Janesville Gazette in February and March, 2008.

Experiencing Turkey
posted February 22, 2008

    I was able to talk to my wife on a free Web cam site. We got it running despite the unpredictable Internet availability here. I could see and hear her. She could only hear me. Considering the electricity only marginally works in this region, we called it a victory.

    We also know my international cell phone works in this region as well. Having grown up before cell phones, computers, abundant Third World commuter flights, and TV satellite feeds I understand how it used to be to put together a trip like this. I have it easy compared to only just a few years ago.

    - This little sandwich shop is attached to an Internet shop in Mardin, Turkey. He insisted I
have the chicken sandwich and the banana shake. Elvis would do fine here. Photo by Bob
Keith, February, 2008 -

    There are statues of Ataturk all over Turkey. He is their George Washington. He is on all the money. I do not want to speak for the Turks, but in a nut shell he lifted up the Turks after World War I and their Ottoman Empire collapse. He stressed secularism in a 99 percent Muslim country. He wanted to bring Turkey closer to the Western world. He died in 1938. His picture is everywhere here. I hope historians are not too offended by my quick note of Ataturk.

    Television here has an American flare. The news people are dressed to the nines in modern cloths. The women anchors look very Westernized. In the right location, you can get TV channels from all over Europe and Asia. This also speaks to this region being a cross roads. From now on every tenth person on the street will have a European look. There are and will continue to be a smattering of red headed people here and east. I am speaking to stereotypes we have of this region. Remember, that is the kind of thing I try to note.

    Bob Keith
Mardin, Turkey

Flying to Diyarbakar and a bus to Mardin, Turkey - Iraq Project II

Bob Keith — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:58:59 GMT

This is a reposting of my Iraq Project II. I will post a dispatch-entry Monday thru Friday until the original project is recreated. The real-time journey was posted by The Janesville Gazette in February and March, 2008.

Flying in Turkey
posted February 21, 2008

    The flight to Diyarbakar, Turkey was on time, quick, and uneventful except the cabin was extremely hot. Out the window however, the whole of Eastern Turkey is under snow.

    There was a big bus out side to take me to the main "bus garage" as they call them here, which is a menagerie of vans, taxis, cars, carts, people and kids. No time to visit Diyarbakar this trip. Last time I walked the looming, crumbling old city wall. I saw an old woman chase some naughty kids away from me with her potato knife. They were begging for money. I believe Diyarbakar is a sprawling city. It is a complex maze of narrow streets and blocks of apartments and shops. The old walled city is ominously dark in timbre.

    The ride to Mardin is about 50 miles. Mardin is a gem in a quasi-war zone. I believe it is about 50,000 people. It sits on a mountain like a city in a post card. Reality check - as the crow flies, I am about 90 miles from the Iraqi boarder. It is about 33 degrees Fahrenheit here with only a dusting of snow. The Internet shop is across from my hotel - "otel" in Turkish. The hotel guy remembered me from 18 months ago. They get few if any Americans. Finally a bed after three days on the road.

    Mardin has two sections. An old city on the mountain. "New Mardin" is down below with its utilitarian apartments and Soviet style architecture.

     Looking up at Old Mardin from utilitarian New Mardin, Turkey
        - Photo by Bob Keith, February, 2008 -

    Here there is a Assyrian community. I have made friends with an Assyrian fellow I met last time and runs a shop on the winding main street. He said there are about 350 of his people in the area. They are Christians and have a church in town. Remember, Turkey is about 99 percent Muslim.

    Two cops came into the Internet shop last night at 11:30 p.m. The were loaded down with machine guns and equipment. One asked me where I was from. I told him Chicago because every one in the world knows Chicago. It is too hard to explain several times every day where Whitewater and Janesville are. Well, if push came to shove, Janesville is getting to be a far burb of Chicago. The cop just laughed and said something about the Bulls and shook my hand.

    The call to prayer woke me up at 5:00 a.m. The sound cracked from the nearby mosque through the cold morning air. Mardin has elements of modern Turkey, yet it is layered with Turkish culture. There are mosques, shops, produce markets, farm machinery, travelers, and of course the military.

    Tea and breakfast with a crew of traveling electricians - Mardin, Turkey
     - photo by "the waiter," February, 2008 -

    Internet 90 miles from Iraq in Mardin, Turkey
    - Photo by Bob Keith, February, 2008 -

    The kids were playing war games at the Internet shop when the electricity went out. It went out three times today. The hotel has a generator. From now on I am in a culture of generators. The power grid is unpredictable at best to all points east.

Bob Keith
Mardin, Turkey

Arrival in Turkey - Iraq Project II

Bob Keith — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:36:35 GMT

This is a reposting of my Iraq Project II. I will post a dispatch-entry Monday thru Friday until the original project is recreated. The real-time journey was posted by The Janesville Gazette in February and March, 2008.

Arrival in Ankara, Turkey
posted February 21, 2008

    The over sleeping mistake I made in Munchen, Germany did not interfere with my abilility to move on. We landed in Ankara, Turkey to one foot of existing snow, wind, and 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Some how, my one checked bag of equipment found its way with me after my flight change. The travel switch actually saved me some cash because I just slept in the Ankara airport waiting for my flight on to Diyarbakir, Turkey. Of course with my sleeping track record in airports, perhaps a nap is risky, but this time I slept in the front seat of the gate area. Do a Google on Diyarbakir to understand what it represents in the current Turkish politics. I do not want to flag the possible Internet monitoring by using certain words.

    Although my nap was on a metal bench in Ankara airport do not get the wrong impression. This is a new airport. It is a huge marble, metal, glass monstrosity. I notice the mammoth superstructure of giant beams and braces are all on massive hinges to withstand earth quakes. The foyer is massive and could hold two football fields. It is truly a salute to neo-Ottoman/German-esque architecture. As I look out the massive glass window to the morning darkness, the hugh red Turkish flag stands straight outward in the driving snow.

    There is an abundance of young women working at this flagship Turkish entity - the airport of their capital city. Many are in the military type uniform used by airport. There are other women dressed in what we would call modern and western as in Europe. I know the presence of women in the work place will fade the furthur east I travel.

Bob Keith
Ankara, Turkey

In Germany - Iraq Project II

Bob Keith — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:34:58 GMT

This is a reposting of my Iraq Project II. I will post a dispatch-entry Monday thru Friday until the original project is recreated. The real-time journey was posted by The Janesville Gazette in February and March, 2008.

In Germany
posted February 21, 2008

    The first step, and ironically perhaps most difficult step to this journey to Iraq was taken out the front door in Janesville. The streets were layered with two months of relentless ice and snow.

    The Van Galder bus was only a half hour late due to the ice and snow. The flight out of Chicago to Munchen, Germany was right on time.

    I tested my international cell here in Munchen. My wife Heide has received the calls so far. The last trip to Iraq we only relied on email.

    It has been 31 years since I was in Germany. I spent almost three years here in the U.S. Army. In those days it was hard to fly home for leave. I spent the whole tour overseas. This airport is vast, newish, and quiet.

    Everyone who warned me about working right up to the day I left for Iraq, give yourselves a nod of approval. I had a four hour layover for the flight to Ankara, Turkey. You can make up in your own minds how I felt when I woke up just a few seats from the waiting gate and the flight was already gone. No one wanted to wake up the sleeping guy.

    The benevolent people at Lufthansa scolded me and promptly booked me for the next flight - no extra charge. Lucky for me the Germans and the Turks have had a long history dating back to the Ottoman Empire and with most recently, Turks working in Germany, and so there are several fights a day to Ankara. One thing I noticed on my last trip to Turkey and Iraq was I was able to use a bit of German language in Turkey to get around. Very little English is used in either Turkey or Iraq.

    And lucky for me there was no extra charge as that probably would have negated my effort to save money by working right up to the time I left.

Bob Keith
Munchen, Germany

Preparing to Depart - Iraq Project II

Bob Keith — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:27:40 GMT

This is a reposting of my Iraq Project II. I will post a dispatch-entry Monday thru Friday until the original project is recreated. The real-time journey was posted by The Janesville Gazette in February and March, 2008.

Introduction
posted February 21, 2008

    People often ask me how it is possible I can travel to Iraq and am going back again? Look at it this way among many answers to that question. We Americans have invested billions of dollars in Iraq since the war started in the spring of 2003, not to mention a presence in that region since the 1991 war. Much of the region I will visit has benefited from that money and presence. Wisconsin has lost 86 soldiers in Iraq. Last time at least, after a brief explanation at the border of my intentions to actually see some of the places where all our investment and sarcifice has taken place, the authorities in the North of Iraq issued a visa at the gate for one dollar and let me in. In that culture, of course it is logical for someone to check on their investments and loses.

    And it was fine as well, that I was just an average guy and not royalty of some sort. Because I have limited means, I must travel at the street level. The average people I had to live amongst last time, took me under their wing. That in itself is already information that is contradictory to conventional wisdom about the place. Also in regards to traveling to Iraq, our State Department does not restrict travel to such places. I however, must understand it is my responsibility to travel there with due regard.

    It might be obvious but it must be emphasized that at any point a journey like this can take a turn for the worse. Or, at any point I could abort the journey if I feel it is merited. The region I will travel is "relatively" safer than say Baghdad for example. Yet, there are several competing regional governments, political parties, religious sects, thiefdoms, and militias controlling or sharing control of much of the no man's land I must travel through. Make no mistake, the northern region of Iraq has complicated dangers of its own aside from Baghdad's. The Turks and the Kurds continually shoot at one and other in the West. The Iranians loom on the East. And, the border-in-flux between the North and South of Iraq is at best precarious to travel near and around.

    Hopefully, my next dispatch will be while en route or in-country.

Bob Keith
Janesville, Wisconsin

Introduction - Iraq Project II

Bob Keith — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:26:55 GMT

Introduction
posted February 21, 2008

    I had a chance to travel to Turkey and Iraq in the fall of 2006. My general goal then was to see how people go about life's daily activities in a war zone. Shortly, I will be returning to build on the things learned on that first trip. I have agreed to share some of my observations with the Janesville Gazette primarily by blogging dispatches back here to the States.

    Although I have been employed by the Gazette in the past, as with my first visit to Iraq I will be leaving my position with them. I will not then, be under the employ of any media entity other than my own independent operation. Nor, do I have any affiliation with the military or any contractor. For the purposes of this journey as with the one before, I am a "traveler" taking a look at the culture in that complex region.

    It is my goal to dispatch every day. However, if that is not possible it does not mean there is a crisis on my end. The electricity does not often work in the region I will be in. There is usually email access along the way as I dispatched every day last trip. But, it is often facilitated by generators and bootleg television satellite dishes. I may at some point run into a region without even makeshift amenities.

    I hope as an independent traveler I can shed some small slivers of information about Iraq of which we are not already aware. It is a region and war we see back here at home as controversial. It is a world so very complex over there. And it is after all, a place we have invested so much time, money, and lives.

Bob Keith
Janesville, Wisconsin

Find Iraq Project 2 postings on gazettextra.com - Iraq Project II

Bob Keith — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:41:41 GMT

The Janesville Gazette has been nice enough to post my dispatches from Northern Iraq on their blog page. Go to, From Janesville to Iraq . They have done a nice job and their help makes it is easier for me. The computers here in Iraq are not always up to building blogs and Web pages.

Bob Keith - Cool Dadio Media - In Sulaymaniyah Iraq - Iraq Project One

Bob Keith — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:28:00 GMT

From: Bob Keith - Cool Dadio Media - Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, Saturday, 14 October 2006.

Sulaymaniyah, Iraq is a rambling city with straight boulevards, something I believe is rare in Asia. There is an old and a new city here. Perhaps there is many old and new sections because it is growing so fast they say. You can see the construction at every turn.

Again the cabbie wanted an extra bit of money after the ride here. He was a nice guy though and only asked for seven more Dollars. This I guess he figured he deserved because he took my picture and dropped me off like a big shot in front of the 100 Dollar-a-night hotel. The hotel and taxi guys always assume I am looking for the five-star hotels. I humbly walked down to the old part of town and to the 15 Dollar-a-night hotel by the electric shop.

At least we got the route to Sulaymaniyah figured out before the ride began. Because, listening to the cab drivers in the "garage" (what they call the taxi/bus station in these parts) I realized I was on my way to Sulaymaniyah via Kirkuk. If you follow the news you know that Kirkuk is worse than Mosul. The Kurds want to reclaim Kirkuk. It used to be a flagship Kurdish city until Saddam Hussein's regime tore the city up. So, now the Kurds talk about it as if it were safe. For them maybe, for me no! Originally I was to ride with three other people to Sulaymaniyah via Kirkuk. This would cost me 20 Dollars. But once I realized the route, and all the taxi drivers and bus drivers weighed in, I was put in a taxi by myself an sent over the Kurdish mountains for 50 Dollars. Fine by me! Saving my life today only cost an extra 30 Dollars.

The electricity just went off an hour ago or so and up fired all the generators again. I found a nice little hotel with a shared bathroom. They brought me tea to my room and offered for me to use the office computer. A police officer stopped me and I thought, oh here it finally comes, I will finally be detained. But he pointed to my shoulder camera bag and noted it was unzipped. "Zip up your important stuff," he said in good English and then smiled and shook my hand with a death grip and went on his way.

Down the road is Halabja where the Saddam Hussein Regime poisoned gassed thousands of Kurds. The death toll is put at 5000; but, who really knows?

Here in Sulaymaniyah I am about 35 miles from Iran. There are Iranian workers here and some of the products from the shops and street vendors are made in Iran. This is a college town. And of course they have beer. It is the first alcohol I have seen openly for sale since Malatya, Turkey. Also, there are flower shops, glass windows, and a Park Department guy watering the trees in the street median. Those things all tell me the war is at a low roar, in this area anyway.

This Eastern region of Kurdistan of Iraq is governed by a different Kurdish political party than the Western region. It is called the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and its leader is named Talabani so his picture is everywhere here. Talabani also holds a high post in the Iraqi government - that of President.

A man named Barzani (without his traditional Kurdish uniform he looks like Dennis Franz of NYPD Blue) the leader of the Western region of Kurdistan of Iraq and his Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP). Barzani is also the leader of Kurdistan of Iraq as a whole. Barzani's picture is everywhere in the West. In one of the pictures I sent you from a hotel lobby, I am standing under his picture. Here in the East you often see the two men pictured together. In the 1990s the two Kurdistans fought a civil war. Confused yet?

Now days the East and West regions of Kurdistan of Iraq have an alliance and fly their own united Kurdish flag rather than the Iraqi flag. Apparently, the Iraqi government does not have the power to force them to fly the Iraqi flag. The only place I have seen the Iraqi flag is on a broke-down military Armored Personnel Carrier. I do not believe I mentioned that they use the Irai money here. They have not gone so far as to print their own money. But, from what I can tell the banking system is in a shambles here. I get my Dollars exchanged by street vendors - at a good rate I might add.

Just a caveat: Experts in Geo-political regions like this one will no-doubt find flaws in my short description of a very complicated set of politics in this region.

End of Message.

Bob Keith - Cool Dadio Media

Bob Keith - Cool Dadio Media - More Info from Sulaymaniyah Iraq - Iraq Project One

Bob Keith — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:28:40 GMT

From: Bob Keith - Cool Dadio Media - Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, 9:00 p.m. Sunday 15 October 2006.

We are back to a society of no street signs again. I guess in these parts with the war and the fact that when new leaders come along every so often and change the street names it is a lost cause to print maps or put up signs.

In this culture of change, there are so many new people fleeing other war-torn parts of the country. Also, some people here do not travel much out of their own neighborhoods. Many people can't even tell me where the bus station is four blocks away. Just finding a bus station or taxi terminal is an ordeal here.

In my 15-Dollar-per-night hotel, the satellite TV brings me Martha Stewart (not from prison), Bugs Bunny, 60-Minutes, and that motor cycle building show. All of these are in English. There are also about 50 Middle East channels from every county you can find in the atlas. Many like Jordanian TV have jazzed-up and modernly dressed female news anchors and variety show hosts. They are very pretty and modern. By the way in Iraq I change hotels each night. I do not stay in the same hotel two nights in a row for security reasons. They all seem to use the same satellite system on this side of Kurdistan of Iraq anyway.

I think I mentioned that the Iraqi Dinar is suppose to be the money here. But, I see the American Dollar in all the street vendor stalls alone with the Dinar. There are few banks if any, here anyway.

I am mingling with the blue-collar people. They often give me free stuff. The sandwich shop down the street gave me free lunch. They claim to be socialists, but who knows what that means here. Their kabob sandwich was great at any rate. I went back and got another lunch later and paid for it so as not to seem to be a free-loader. I am trying to at least spread a little good impressions of Americanism. Most people all seem befuddled by my tattoos and pony tail. The guys in the sandwich shop however, have fought a couple wars and really do not care what I look like.

If Turkey has many machine gun toting soldiers on every corner, Kurdistan has that times ten.

There are frequent lightning storms here because of the mountains. I have lost some writing when the electricity has gone out and had to start over. I try to save a draft as much as possible but some of the computers purge things when re-booted.

The Internet guy feels bad about the storm and keeps checking on me to make sure I am not unhappy. I am just glad I can find email in Iraq.

Note:

You are all welcome to share my dispatch emails or any pictures I may be able to send from Northern Iraq with who ever you wish. All I ask in return is you note they are indeed from Bob Keith and Cool Dadio Media - or, at the very least, they are from Bob Keith. Thanks in advance.

End of message.

Bob Keith - Cool Dadio Media