Changes

2018: blanky has found the Kurds to be extremely hospitable; [http://blankyrambles.blogspot.com/2018/05/on-my-birthday.html here's a whole blog post about a couple days of hitchhiking.]

August/September 2015 - "I hitched around iraqi kurdistan most of the time and never had problem getting rides. People were as expected very friendly and hospitable. The only thing making hitching less smooth were the numerous checkpoints and the Asayish (some kind of secret police). While most of the time I could pass trough the checkpoints easily I was stopped and interogated a few times. Most of the times these interrogations were just a few questions (where to, where from and why) and after 5 minutes I was back on the road. But on a few occasions I was kept for a longer amount of time . The longest of these encounters were while I tried to hitch to Amedi taking the big road in the east (trough Barzan). I was stopped halfway there and then brought to a local chief of the Peshmerga. During the whole time my poor driver had to stay as a translator, being the only krudish english speaker around. After a few hours of waiting and answering questions I was let go but was strongly advised by the official not to take this road any further but return to Erbil. According to them the Checkpoints wouldn't get any more relaxed from this point and cars would become more and more sparse anyway. Might have been just a lie to make me change course but in the end I did return to Erbil since the better part of the day was gone anyway.

During the month I stayed and hitched around iraqi Kurdistan I never felt unsave and I can only agree with what people say about the kurdish hospitality." [[User:WuKong|Wu Kong]]

June 2013 ''(Only relevant for Kurdish quarter of Iraq) I hitched in without any issues from Turkey, as there is alot of traffic at this border, and the process is straightforward to get your free visa. Alot of traffic heads to Duhok, which is pretty enough, but wait for traffic going directly to the capital, as it is a hard city to hitchhike out off, with large highways. Hitchhiking in this country is probably not quite as gushingly easy as earlier stated, although you will have someone stop out of curiosity eventually. They go to great measures to help, flagging down other drivers, putting you in taxis. All sorts. The road networks are a NIGHTMARE, and all being rebuilt. There are few definitive maps, and Google Maps is pish and out of date. Ask frequently to ensure you don't go astray, or even ashtray (if you slipped into Arabic territory). Peshmerga (bad spelling, but the elite police and army unit), keep the place very safe, and can be really friendly. I spent two nights at their roadstops, and got great hospitality. Much easier out of the big cities, and the Kurdish people deserve high praise for delightful hospitality, warmth and gentleness, a true asset'' - [[User:lukeyboy95|lukeyboy95]]

July 2014: ''I hitchhiked around Iraqi Kurdistan for about a week. I found it fantastically easy to find a ride. I hitched in from Turkey and got my free visa. When I was leaving the Kurdish border control office, a Peshmerga soldier flagged down a bus to take me all the way to Erbil (Hêwler) for free. After staying a couple nights with the deaf community in Erbil, I hitchhiked north and was offered a place to sleep in Akre by the Syrian family who gave me a ride. Afterwards, I hitched up to Amedi, where I stayed with some friends of the Kurdish border control officer I met a few days before. On my way back to Turkey, I was given a hotel room in Zakho for the night. I have nothing but good things to say about Kurdistan and the Kurdish people.'' - [[User:Sirrdc|Sirrdc]]