First things first: Iraqi Kurdistan, where we begin this unique trip, is a stable, sane, and very inviting destination. And if we have any reason to think that might change, we won’t go, pure and simple. On this three week journey we’ll set out from Kurdistan’s booming capital, Erbil, on a comprehensive look at the burgeoning, surprisingly up-to-the-minute nation-in-all-but-name, often following the Hamilton Road, named for British engineer Archibald Hamilton, whose still-available and informative 1937 book, Road Through Kurdistan, a London paper of the day described as “full of derring-do, dynamite and splendid fellows smoking pipes.” On Day 11 we cross into Turkey outside of Lalish, con¬sidered by the local non-Islamic Yezidi people the birth¬place of the universe. We’ll spend over a week in eastern Turkey, or Anatolia, one of the most fascinating parts of this fascinating country. Hittites, Urartus, Assyrians, Babylo¬nians, Romans, Persians, Arabs, Byzantines, Ottomans, Kurds, and Armenians all passed through this grassy steppe and left behind palaces, mosques, madresahs, caravan¬serais, churches, monasteries, and other archaeological testimonies. At times the landscapes are wild and desolate, deserted plains marked by jagged peaks, rolling plateaus, clear lakes, and extinct volcanoes.

Day 1: arrive in Erbil, Kurdistan • Days 2 & 3: Erbil • Day 4: drive to Sulymania • Day 5: Sulymania and Halabja • Day 6: drive to Rawanduz via Shaqlawa • Day 7: excursion along Hamilton Road • Day 8: Amadiya to Duhok • Day 9: Duhok and Lalish • Day 10: Duhok • Day 11: enter Turkey, on to Mardin • Day 12: Mardin • Day 13: Urfa • Day 14: excursion to Harran • Day 15: Gobeklitepe, Gaziantep and Adiyaman • Day 16: Mount Nemrut and Arsemia • Day 17: Diyarbakir and Lake Van • Day 18: Van, Hosap, and Cavustepe • Day 19: Ishak Pasa and Kars • Day 20: Ani, fly to Istanbul • Day 21: depart for home.

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