The same contrast and comparison can be made between the last two stops of my travels around Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkey. Before entering the Kurdish-controlled region of Iraq back in July, I had read up on the north-eastern corner of the country and had decided that it was a place that I really wanted to check out. Dissecting the area is the Hamilton Road, named after its architect, which helped link trades routes back in the early part of the last century. The road navigates the twists and turns of the Gali Ali Beg canyon and stretches on towards Iran. With prior visions of desert region in Iraq, it had been my assumption that this plethora of natural beauty would be a welcome oasis. As I've already mentioned in an earlier post, Iraq challenged all the pre-conceptions I had had.
From the city of Erbil were I was based with my two other travel companions, Carol and Peter, we set out to find a taxi to take us there and back. I had done a little research and found out from other travellers via Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree, that the cost of a taxi up to the canyon with a 2 hour wait to check out the waterfall and then a lift back to Erbil should have been around $100. However, I asked Jamil, the hotel owner, whether he would mind doing some negotiating on our behalf. He agreed and managed to get the price down to $60. Not only that, but he was also able to get the driver to allow us more than the standard 2 hour wait there!
I have never been to Arizona and the only time I've seen the Grand Canyon has been on TV, so the sight of the vast crevice that is Gali Ali Beg blew me away. Seeing how nature and time had eroded away at the landscape to create sights like that was inspiring. No matter how much travelling I do, it's a great reminder that there is always something new to see. The Road divided in two - an Upper and a Lower road - at the canyon and watching vehicles edge their way along the narrow pathways reminded me of my car trip in Tajikistan.
In the vicinity of the canyon, there was also a couple of waterfalls. The first one we stopped at was the Bekhal waterfall, which ferociously pumped out water down the side of a hill. What really made this place make to stand back in awe was not the natural beauty of it, but in fact the cafes that had been built on it. Literally, eating establishments and chai houses dotted the waterfall and patrons sat with their kebabs and tea while water gushed around their feet. On the waterfall itself, families sat on the rocks in the middle and took pictures while children swam at the bottom. I think that any other place in the world I would have been dismayed at the tackiness of it all, but talking to Iraqis from Baghdad and Babil altered my view. These people struggled with the daily routine of conflict and terrorism and saw this area as a brief respite from that; a chance to have fun on holiday. Who was I to judge how they achieved this? They were having fun and it was hard not to be caught up in how cool it actually was to be eating my lunch with wave after wave of water pouring over me.
The second waterfall proved to be just as surreal an adventure. The Gali Ali Beg waterfall is so famous in Iraq that it appears on one of the banknotes. Arriving at the scene, we saw families enjoying the scenery again. However, this time they were doing so on dinghies - their boats drifting around the gushing water!
On the flip side to mass tourism was my trip to Olympus in Turkey. After leaving Iraqi Kurdistan, i found that I had a few days to fill before my flight to Vietnam and my new life there. I had missed out on my 'beach holiday' in Georgia so i decided to make up for it with a little trip to the sleepy hamlet of Olympus on the south coast. I had heard that it was a great place to relax, meet like-minded people, sleep in a treehouse and forget your worries. What I found there, though, was this the secret was out of the bag and the number of backpackers stopping off in the middle of their 'booze cruises' had reached annoying proportions. Instead of fellow travellers looking to rest and enjoy the sea side, there were giant groups of Aussies, Kiwis and Europeans looking to keep their alcohol levels topped up. I'm not against people enjoying themselves in that way, after all, I did have a summer job in Kusadasi, but with so many other options to choose from it was a little sad that another party place had been created in that area.
On the plus side, the ruins scattered around the beach were a lot of fun to explore and I did get to find a small patch of beach to make my own in order to swim and sunbathe in peace. Turkey has a lot to offer a tourist, I just hope they realise that they don't have to change just to keep people flocking there. The beauty of Turkey is that there is something for everyone.
From the city of Erbil were I was based with my two other travel companions, Carol and Peter, we set out to find a taxi to take us there and back. I had done a little research and found out from other travellers via Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree, that the cost of a taxi up to the canyon with a 2 hour wait to check out the waterfall and then a lift back to Erbil should have been around $100. However, I asked Jamil, the hotel owner, whether he would mind doing some negotiating on our behalf. He agreed and managed to get the price down to $60. Not only that, but he was also able to get the driver to allow us more than the standard 2 hour wait there!
I have never been to Arizona and the only time I've seen the Grand Canyon has been on TV, so the sight of the vast crevice that is Gali Ali Beg blew me away. Seeing how nature and time had eroded away at the landscape to create sights like that was inspiring. No matter how much travelling I do, it's a great reminder that there is always something new to see. The Road divided in two - an Upper and a Lower road - at the canyon and watching vehicles edge their way along the narrow pathways reminded me of my car trip in Tajikistan.
In the vicinity of the canyon, there was also a couple of waterfalls. The first one we stopped at was the Bekhal waterfall, which ferociously pumped out water down the side of a hill. What really made this place make to stand back in awe was not the natural beauty of it, but in fact the cafes that had been built on it. Literally, eating establishments and chai houses dotted the waterfall and patrons sat with their kebabs and tea while water gushed around their feet. On the waterfall itself, families sat on the rocks in the middle and took pictures while children swam at the bottom. I think that any other place in the world I would have been dismayed at the tackiness of it all, but talking to Iraqis from Baghdad and Babil altered my view. These people struggled with the daily routine of conflict and terrorism and saw this area as a brief respite from that; a chance to have fun on holiday. Who was I to judge how they achieved this? They were having fun and it was hard not to be caught up in how cool it actually was to be eating my lunch with wave after wave of water pouring over me.
The second waterfall proved to be just as surreal an adventure. The Gali Ali Beg waterfall is so famous in Iraq that it appears on one of the banknotes. Arriving at the scene, we saw families enjoying the scenery again. However, this time they were doing so on dinghies - their boats drifting around the gushing water!
On the flip side to mass tourism was my trip to Olympus in Turkey. After leaving Iraqi Kurdistan, i found that I had a few days to fill before my flight to Vietnam and my new life there. I had missed out on my 'beach holiday' in Georgia so i decided to make up for it with a little trip to the sleepy hamlet of Olympus on the south coast. I had heard that it was a great place to relax, meet like-minded people, sleep in a treehouse and forget your worries. What I found there, though, was this the secret was out of the bag and the number of backpackers stopping off in the middle of their 'booze cruises' had reached annoying proportions. Instead of fellow travellers looking to rest and enjoy the sea side, there were giant groups of Aussies, Kiwis and Europeans looking to keep their alcohol levels topped up. I'm not against people enjoying themselves in that way, after all, I did have a summer job in Kusadasi, but with so many other options to choose from it was a little sad that another party place had been created in that area.
On the plus side, the ruins scattered around the beach were a lot of fun to explore and I did get to find a small patch of beach to make my own in order to swim and sunbathe in peace. Turkey has a lot to offer a tourist, I just hope they realise that they don't have to change just to keep people flocking there. The beauty of Turkey is that there is something for everyone.
