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Braid in trains

- solidarity with

Apr 25

#AzadiRail day 9 : I've had a relaxed morning in the downtown wasting time and money at the bazar of

#Hewlêr / #Erbil. Now enjoying some tasty Çay in the sadly-not @diningcar at the international bus terminal waiting for my bus to

#Zaxo / #Zakho at the Syrian border to arrive.

After I learned my #AzadiBus is 5 hours late, I decided to look for another carrier. A friendly Turkish-Iraqi guy helped me figuring out the operator leaving next, so here I am with a new ticket to

#Zaxo / #Zakho for 25.000 IQD. #AzadiRail

After 3 hours, I arrived in #Zaxo / #Zakho, right at the border to 🇹🇷 Habur and 20 km from the border of 🇸🇾 Feyesh Khabur.

Zaxo is a fascinating city : it had around 30.000 inhabitants 50 years ago. With the de-facto autonomy of #Kurdistan in the Seventies, it suddenly attracted Kurds from all over the region and grew to the 200.000 inhabitants. Nowadays it's an economically important hub for trade between Kurdistan, 🇮🇶 Iraq, the 🇸🇾 Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria / #Rojava and 🇹🇷 Turkey.

I was highly surprised, I expected an ugly, transportation and cargo industry hub but what I got was a beautiful, clean, green and prosperous city which rather looks like in wealthy parts of Spain or Italy.

Despite its economic importance, from an international tourism perspective, Zaxo is pretty irrelevant. From a local tourism perspective, Zaxo in opposite is a major cultural attraction for Kurds from the region. Right now, Zaxo prepares for the Seluserik Festival next week. The only internationally known tourist attraction seems to be the #DelalBridge - now with a brand new, beautiful museum next to it. #AzadiRail

This said : everything prepared for trying to cross the #Pêşabûr / #FayshKhabur border crossing from 🇮🇶 Iraq /

#Kurdistan to 🇸🇾 Syria

#Rojava. #AzadiRail

You will be able to enter Syria / Rojava

50%

Kurdistan will let you leave but can't enter Syria

31.3%

The border will be closed

12.5%

You will strand in Faysh Khabur

6.3%

Poll ended at Apr 25 at 8:11pm.

Organized some more cash ✅. Heck, it's hard to find ATMs accepting international bank cards in #Kurdistan 🏧. Anyways, after a short evening walk, got enough cash to pay my remaining days of vacation. #AzadiRail

#AzadiRail day 9 was : #AzadiBus with flaws from #Hewlêr / #Erbil to #Zaxo / #Zakho, a relaxed afternoon and travel preparations for tomorrow.

🚂🇫🇷🇩🇪🇦🇹🇭🇺🇷🇴🇧🇬🇦🇩🇹🇷

#AzadiRail day 10 : first failed attempt at the #Semalki border crossing in #Pêşabûr / #FayshKhabur. The 🇮🇶 Iraqi Kurdish officer at the border told me the border was closed on Saturdays, so here I am, back in #Zaxo / #Zakho spending another day on the bazar waiting for the border to open tomorrow morning.

But so far, this is already some progress : I now know In fact I can cross the border to 🇸🇾 #Syria / #Rojava by foot.

🚂🇫🇷🇩🇪🇦🇹🇭🇺🇷🇴🇧🇬🇦🇩🇹🇷🇮🇶🇸🇾

After the frustrating outcome of this morning, I decided to stay in #Zaxo / #Zakho for one more day.

I took the time to visit the citadel, an ancient fortress from Roman and Byzantine times. It was beautifully renovated in past years and a pleasure to visit. The rest of the day, I was walking around on the bazar, enjoying snacks and Çay 🥰.

So far, #AzadiRail day 10 : to the border of 🇸🇾 Syria / #Rojava but sadly back to 🇮🇶 Iraqi #Kurdistan from there on. Next attempt tomorrow morning.

🚂🇫🇷🇩🇪🇦🇹🇭🇺🇷🇴🇧🇬🇦🇩🇹🇷🇮🇶🇸🇾

#AzadiRail day 11 was a boring day : I stumbled into the city of #Dihok / #Duhok, capital of a local province. The city does not convince me at all : the much #Zaxo / #Zakho was a positive and outstanding surprise, the sad and boring Dihok feels to me. There are no sights, no historic building, no modern city center, no parks. Not even a good bazar, nor cafés.

Anyways, this is sadly already my last night in #Kurdistan. Tomorrow I'll start my trip back home 😥.

#AzadiRail day 11 : Sadly vacation is ending soon so slowly time to get back to France. Homebound day 1 : My #AzadiBus from #Dihok / #Duhok sadly was canceled. After asking each and every ticket counter in the International Bus Terminal, the conclusion seemed to be : not just my bus was canceled, but pretty every bus. Seemingly in at 5 p.m. there will be the next bus bringing me to #Êlih / 🇹🇷 Batman. That means yet another boring day doing nothing and waiting at the bus terminal since that so far is the most comfortable spot I found in this weird city.

🚂🇫🇷🇩🇪🇦🇹🇭🇺🇷🇴🇧🇬🇦🇩🇹🇷🇮🇶🇸🇾

Since 12 p.m. I've been the only passenger in the bus terminal. In opposite, there are about 30 staff members here : about 10 different ticket offices, one for each operator, a supermarket, a car rental stand, a restaurant, a café, security ... 30 people here to operate a bus terminal. But simply no bus nor passengers to operate. #AzadiRail

#AzadiRail, 4 p.m. Still 0 other passengers at the terminal. Still supposedly 1 hour until the departure of my #AzadiBus.

In 40 minutes, I'm supposed to arrive at my destination. In fact, my #AzadiBus has not even crossed the border into Turkey. So far 4 hours of border controls. #AzadiRail

Anyways, now that I have internet, some pictures from the #AzadiBus trip :

The International Terminal of #Dihok / #Duhok is a bit of a joke : there's a giant terminal with gates to the bus platforms but since going there would mean a détour, the busses in fact stop on the sideway of the highway close by.

Some minutes prior to departure, a taxi drives over and picks up all passengers (at the end we were 3) and drives them for the 2 km to the bus's actual stop.

With 3½ h delay, our bus arrived. It's a comfortable mainline bus and the landscape of mesopotamia was yet beautiful.

#AzadiRail

Bus eepy, bus push. #AzadiRail

After one hour, we reached the

#IbrahimKhalil / 🇹🇷 #Habur border crossing. Yet another hour later waiting in front of the border crossing, we could enter it - once again featuring funny let's-walk-over-the-highway boarding. One hour later, we could get to the passport check. Yet another hour later, the

Iraqi Kurdistan administration was ready checking our #AzadiBus for smuggling goods (haha, good joke) and let us leave #Kurdistan. #AzadiRail

Almost 12 a.m. border crossed. Welcome back to Turkish Kurdistan ✊ !

#AzadiRail homeward day & night #1 :

🚂🇮🇶🇹🇷

After one more hours, I was now taken to *another* #AzadiBus. They say my bus won't stop in #Êlih / 🇹🇷 Batman today so I should take that other one. It's not getting better, is it ?

Anyways, I'm now sitting in a bus and we're about to depart. ETA : 4 a.m. - heck, I'm tired. #AzadiRail

Finally, on our way to

#Êlih !

Things I won't miss in Europe : People smoking in every bus I take 🙄. #AzadiRail

1 a.m., first #AzadiBus rest at a highway rest area. I'm cold. #AzadiRail

Can they just stop smoking inside the bus 🤬 ? #AzadiRail

#AzadiBus 3.30 a.m.,

Midyad / 🇹🇷 Midyat. Next stop :

#Êlih / 🇹🇷 Batman. I'm tired. #AzadiRail

4.45 a.m.,

#Êlih / 🇹🇷 Batman. My #AzadiBus destination for today. Delay of 6 hours. #AzadiRail

I swear, next vacation will be less busses by night. #AzadiRail

After a long sleep, tasty afternoon #baklava with #Çay in

#Êlih / 🇹🇷 Batman. #AzadiRail

Finally back on track ! After a week of bus travels, my first #AzadiRail train back home : I'm in #Êlih / 🇹🇷 Batman waiting for the famous #GüneyEkspresi / Southern Express #SleeperAndEater bringing my to 🇹🇷 #Ankara for the next 25 hours.

Êlih is a cute station, a couple of cargo carriages in the cargo terminal, a cute maintenance vehicle for display, three tracks but sadly no catenary.

The station has three train pairs per day : twice the regional link to the Kurdish capital #Amed / 🇹🇷 #Diyarbakır and six days per week a pair of my Güney Ekspresi linking #Misircê / 🇹🇷 #Kurtalan, Êlih, Amed and 🇹🇷 #Malatya with #Ankara over night.

Shortly after the arrival of the local train from #Amed / 🇹🇷 #Diyarbakır, my #SleeperAndEater #GüneyEkspresi arrived. It features most comfortable and spacious wagon-lits compartments with a desk, two proper beds, a sink and even a mini-bar - a comfortable hotel room for the next 25 hours.

The steward was already waiting for me and didn't even wanna see my ticket since I was the only passenger boarding the wagon-lits carriage.

#AzadiRail #TeamNightTrain

25 hours. This is btw. my longest train leg on European gauge 😇 ! #AzadiRail

The weird thing about Turkish railways : You have three different train types but their speeds don't match :

YHT high-speed trains : Vmax 300 kph
Mainline trains : Vmax 50 kph
Regional trains : Vmax 140 kph

... ???

Enjoying lunch in a @diningcar during my #AzadiRail journey from Iraqi #Kurdistan to France, today on the famous #GüneyEkspresi / Southern Express #SleeperAndEater on my 25 hours trip from #Êlih / 🇹🇷 Batman to 🇹🇷 #Ankara 😋 !

Since the vegan choice is sadly highly limited, I decided for a plate of rice with some side salad, some fruit juice and of course a glass of #Çay 🍵!

Save travels everyone and enjoy your meal 🍽️ !

So far, #AzadiRail day #13, homebound day and night #3 : comfortable #GüneyEkspresi #SleeperAndEater from #Êlih / 🇹🇷 Batman to 🇹🇷 #Ankara 🍽️😴.

🚂🇮🇶🇹🇷

#AzadiRail day #14, homebound day #4 begins with tasty breakfast in the @diningcar of the #GüneyEkspresi #SleeperAndEater . The vegan options are highly limited but I reached at explaining I only want #Çay , bread and jam.

#TeamNightTrain