IRAQ SULAYMANIYAH

Hi Ramesh

I'm Gopalakrishnan working in Erbil.
Suleymania is very nice place. Kurdistan is 100% safe.

You can contact me for any further queries: cma.mgk@gmail.com / +964-7508122367

I am teaching English in Sulaymania. It is completely safe, no areas to avoid, no danger in taking street taxi's. No compounds with checkpoints etc... They didn't even ask me why I was entering the country. Didn't search my bags, didn't check my medical records, didn't need a visa. Just got a plane and went there via Istanbul. I was rather surprised.

It's hard for people to grasp that the cities up here are city-states and that what happens in Kirkuk or Mosul is a world away from here. The people here love americans and are found of saying "I love George Bush!', which as a liberal democrat I find ironic, but keep my mouth shut.

The accomodations are nice, the people are nice. Not too much english spoken. I speak Arabic, which helps, but at least half the taxi's I get into don't speak a word of Arabic either. Some teachers depend on an english speaking driver to get around, but I'm able to get around just using Arabic.

Fresh produce is available everywhere. Right now you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a watermelon vendor. A whole watermelon will set you back about 35 cents USD, but a red bell pepper at the fancy supermarket runs about 5 dollars.

I recently got groceries at a place called Metro, which is on the expensive end of things, but is convenient and here's some of the costs: 4 bars of dove soap 4500, 25 bags of green tea 750, shaving foam 1 750, qtips 500, rice 4250. The exchange is 1100 dinar to the dollar give or take, so prices are comparable to the US. My utilities run 200 USD per month in my 750 sq ft apt which includes water, electric, gas, and internet.

It's pretty nice, I highly recommend it, and I'm working at an institution that is only 4 years old. If you have better credentials you'd do better than I even. Seems like the area is in dire need of teachers because they have expanded so quickly and because people are misled by the US embassy to think that this is a dangerous area. But if you listen to what the British embassy is saying, this area is perfectly safe, which has been my experience.

Hope that helps!

Hello Ramesh

Have you reach sulaymaniyah, I am also planning to go there next month. Please share if you have got any feed back on the situation there.

Regards,

Bharat Shukla

Still My visa under process I check with some people its ok .

Regards
M Ramesh reddy
Kuwait

Thanks Ramesh, I am planning to fly by end of August 2014, let me know when r u flying my emai id is bharatshukla[at]gmail.com

regards,

Bharat shukla

I am researching institutions where I might be able to work in Kurdistan as I am very interested in the culture and region. I wanted to know if as a female athlete if it is possible to ride (cycling), walk, hike or run outdoors?

Thanks!

I suggest you confine your search to Sulaymaniyah. None of the other areas are nearly as safe. Erbil is very mixed and getting a lot of refugees and CIA is building a huge base there which can't be a good sign. Dohuk is conservative. SuliTown is the only one I feel truly safe in all the time.

Please can anyone tell me if there is safe in Sulaymaniyah for the moment? I might be going there by the end of this month, but I´m still not sure whether to go or not because of IS! Please help

The area is oil important and,as coincidence has it, ISIS are mainly active in areas where oil is to be found or refined.
Whilst I'm sure their version of radical Islam isn't purely a front for greed (oil money), they do seem to take great interest in such areas.

To the point.
That lot are active within 100km or so of your intended destination.

This is two years later.  I hope these standards still ring true, for I am moving to Suli in August.

There is an economic crisis. There have been occasional strikes and power outages. Could get better or could get worse, probably worse.  There is no danger from ISIS. Only danger would be accidentally getting caught up in a demonstration about unpaid wages etc.

Thanks for the response.  I am mostly worried about the safety, and I have been assured that everything is fine.  Where did you live in the US?  Should a car be necessary in Suli?  Are you able to get American television programming?  Admittedly, I am interested in the culture and the ability to have financial stability.

Feel free to drop any nuggets of wisdom to me that you wish.  I've read many of your informative posts, but I am open to advice and infomration.

There are taxi's everywhere and they are completely safe. The standard fare is 4000 riyal, which is cheap. I do not recommend getting a car because you can not buy insurance (it doesn't exist). If you were to get into a serious accident, they could hold you responsible for blood money for the victims. As a foreigner, it's very likely the liability would fall on you, even if fault is not clear. Also it is very inexpensive to use a personal driver that you call upon when needed. This is a very normal thing here.

Regarding television, I was unable to get Netflix or Hulu there. Many things on the internet are disabled in Iraq because of the lack of copyright laws. I tried a proxy service but it was like a cat and mouse game where I constantly had to change settings to make it work and in the end I decided it wasn't worth it. I don't have much experience with satellite tv, so I'm not sure what is available that way.

Clocker......I forgot to mention that we do have the electricity go on and off frequently, government planned.....but most places have generators that go on when that happens.  Rent where they use a generator.  I think you can get around fine without a car.  You wouldn't want to drive here...you'll see!  We depend on taxis here for most transportation.  They are plentiful at all times, and very cheap, compared to the US.  We use the dinar.....figure that $100 dollars is about 125, 000 dinar (always add three zeros).  After rent (which will include utilities, much of your money is yours.  As a veggie, you can do well on food for very cheap.  I'm sure the other teachers will have the perfect advice for you.

Thank you so much.  This is very helpful information.

Glad to be of help.  Anything else you can think of, let me know. 

Bill