Where I left off...

When last I posted about my trip I had left off here...

So I was not able to cross the Syrian border into Kurdistan the first day I arrived so we stayed overnight in a hotel. Early the next morning I was awoke to a phone call saying that I had not been approved to cross the water to the Kurdish side. I would have to wait or find another way. Oddly Syria had said my children being half-Iraqi could cross, but that since they were children they couldn't without their mother, me, who couldn't!!!

My traveling companions, Meran's cousin, Abdullah, and two other Kurdish women didn't feel right to continue on with the large group that was heading down to the water so they instead went with me to the KDP office to try and work things out. Try as they might, and I was skeptical of how hard they were really trying, they could not get approval for me. They even changed my mothers name from Patricia to Piroz, and my fathers to some other Kurdish name. But nothing worked.

Finally I was able to get in touch with Meran who was waiting with his uncle Issa, who were wondering what was holding us up..."Others have crossed, where are you guys...?"

I firmly asked the men at the KDP office what my options were, they were trying to convince me to stay and wait...I was tired and cranky, 4 days of traveling with 3 small boys, and two "aunties" who were more of a hinderance than a help. They finally told me that crossing the Syrian/Turkish border was an option and that I could take a Taxi from there to the Turkish/Kurdish border only 2 hours away.

"Turks won't bother you cause your American and the Syrians won't care just as long as you don't mention your intentions of traveling to Kurdistan. They don't want Americans to go help the Kurds."

They told me they would help me take care of EVERYTHING, little did I know that this part of my journey to Kurdistan would prove to be the most grueling of the whole trip...