Bright sparks

Electric wiring is more scary than ISIS. Electrical fires are common. 

Just surviving

The Cultural Cafe is an institution in Slemani, but even this bookshop has fallen on hard times. Once it occupied a pleasant building in a suburban street, combining a bookshop with a cafe. Now it is reduced to a rather flimsy tent on the edge of the bazaar. However, their enthusiasm for books still remains. 

Publishing has also been drastically reduced with a mere handful of books being published each month. Almost all publishing had been government supported and that money has completed dried up. 

It started with a kiss

 Sulaymaniyah has always been a liberal and cultural city. However, a previous statue in much style as the one picture was badly vandalised last year. The city responded by creating a larger and indestructible version and placing right by the main entrance the park. A statue like this is inconceivable elsewhere in the Middle East.

Taken for a ride

While most fret about ISIS and suicide bombers, a taxi ride is a far greater concern. Kurds are not usually aggressive drivers like the Lebanese and the Egyptians, but they are daydreamy and careless, generally preferring to drive in the middle of the road, straddling two lanes. Keeping right is not a popular option.

The quickest, easiest and cheapest way to travel between cities is by shared taxi. You just arrive at the 'garagy', find a taxi going to your destination and then wait for it to fill up (the front seat is a bit more expensive). Then you say Hamadallah (Praise God) and you are off.

Apparently the maximum speed level is 100 kph but my taxi hit 170 kph and this is no motorway. The roads are not bad, but not great either. Of course we had to have music as we speed along and at one stage doing 160 kph, the driver singing away takes his hands completely off the wheel so he can clap time to the music and execute some dance moves.

Oh and the taxi's tyres were bald too....

Hamadallah indeed.

An ancient legacy

The Sumerians ruled this region from about 4000 to 2000 BC and today very little remains of their civilisation (and now even less since ISIS is having a bit of go....).

One enduring symbol is the Sumerian good luck charm  It was frequently included in furniture, in particular mirrors. Today Kurds still incorporate this ancient charm into baby cribs.

Rats to you

 'DENT' is short for dentist and I am not sure what 'RO' is short for,but the two definitely don't go together. 

Life goes on

The economy is in ruins, ISIS are lined up long the 1000 border but that is no excuse not to be stylish. 

This is one of the large 'style centres' in Erbil. There are about 20 chairs in all and it is packed with young men getting their hair done and the occasional facial.  In addition to those in the actual chairs, the place also accommodates all their friends. It is a racket - several tvs are on, there is music blaring and outside two tea stands continuously ferry in glasses of sweet tea. The women are much more discreet and women's hair salons are thoroughly screened off from prying eyes. 

What is she doing?

The Ukraine has retained most of its Soviet era monuments,  especially those relating to the Second World War.

The man holding the sword I can understand, but what is the woman doing? She looks like she is about to dive from a high board....




 This monument from the nineteenth century has also survived from the time when Lviv was an overwhelmingly a Polish city.

Not so fortunate was the statue of Stalin with just the empty plinth now remaining.
Polish city. 

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A night out in Lviv

 Lviv has many smart cafes and this combined with warm summer temperatures make them a welcome place to waste time on a hot afternoon.

Divide these prices by 20 to give the NZ S price. 

Alcohol is incredibly cheap, though much of it is pretty horrible. The ugly side of that are the large number of alcoholics on the street. Walking back to the hotel in the evening I noticed up ahead a police car partly parked on the footpath and a couple of policemen talking to 4 or 5 drunk men. It wasn't until I was alongside them that I noticed a dead man lying on the footpath in a transparent body bag. Aged in his fifties he too looked alcoholic. What surprised me is that he wasn't covered, the police didn't even bother closing the footpath and no one seemed at all upset.

Lvi

This lovely wine bar didn't have much of a wine list but it did have two New Zealand wines and none from Australia bless them. Both wines, a Sauvignon Blanc and a Pinot Noir, were from Marlborough and very expensive. Only one bottle of French wine was more expensive.

Carpathian Mountains

Running through south western Ukraine are the Carpathian mountains. They are not that high but are very pretty with forests, small villages and farms. Time has stood still here and farming is still very hands on. Shepherds tend tiny flocks of sheep and hay is still cut by scythe, stacked and dried by hand.  

Ukrainian Wedding

It is not unusual to see Ukrainians wearing 'traditional' clothing. For men this is usually a shirt with a patterned collar extended down the centre of the shirt, while for women it involves a dress with a tradition floral patterning or lacy blouse.

This wedding party were posing for their photographer in front of an old windmill so I stepped up and took a few snaps as well which really seemed to please them.

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Ukrainian toilet paper

It is not hard to gauge Ukrainian feelings regarding Vladimir Putin. As you can see it is anti-Putin and not anti-Russian. 

Church or pagoda

The Ukraine is a curious religious mix of Russian Orthodox. Ukrainian Greek Catholic Orthodox and Roman Catholic. However, this old church looked more like an oriental pagoda than the tradition church.

Cafe Biscuit

At the entrance to a huge city park is the stunning Art Noveau cafe Biscuit. Built in 1905, the cafe has managed to preserve all its original interior and exterior style, even down to the elegant toilet fittings.

Whats more it makes good coffee and has very pleasant staff. Just the place to while away a warm summer afternoon.

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Lviv Ukraine

Lviv in the western Ukraine is wonderful, and although these days the city is quite shabby and rundown, I thoroughly enjoyed being there. Unlike other Ukrainian cities, Lviv escaped destruction during both the First and Second World Wars. Moreover, lack of money has prevented the city from being modernised and even worst renovated, so the central urban area consists of street after street of original 18th, 19th and early 20th century buildings. Sure they need work but at least they have survived. 

It is a city of grand boulevards, spacious parks and elegant buildings. Even better for the visitor but less so for the city,  these days Lviv attracts few foreign tourists which makes a refreshing change from those more popular European cities overwhelmed by tourism. Along with the architecture, the city has pleasant cafes, good food and smart restaurants and all a very affordable price (especially given the state of the NZ dollar. 

And it is safe too, not just from the war which is at the other end of the country, but on the street as well.