Time to tackle country 189, Iraq. Though this sounds daunting, Iraq has a little secret called Kurdistan. Like Somaliland in Somolia, Kurdistan is a self governed state within a state. Internationally it is recognized as a part of Iraq but for all intents and purposes it is a separate country. As much as I’d like to visit Baghdad, for now I’ll opt for the safer area of Kurdistan. To give you an idea of how safe it is, they even have mileage tickets and many international airlines flying directly there. Thus the title of “Peaceful Iraq”.

In the picture above, the flag on the left is Iraq and on the right is Kurdistan.

As I have some friends in Egypt, I’ll be passing through to see more of the country before continuing to Erbil. We plan on visiting Luxor, Aswan, and Abu Simbel before returning to Cairo.

I look forward to sharing some of the archeological wonders and ancients sites from this trip.

Follow along for updates!