LaLa Land

Wow -- what an amazing couple of days! We are now in Silopi visiting Selman's family. Bob and I flew from Istanbul to Diyarbakir and Selman and his cousin Gafur picked us up at the airport. We drove through the ancient city of Mardin and Cizre, passing over the Tigris (Dicle) River. The road followed the border with Syria and Iraq (don't worry -- we are quite safe!) and Selman's family's house looks onto the mountains just over the border into Iraq.






The ride was amazing -- the 20 mile stretch of road between Cizre and Silopi was lined with oil tanker trucks waiting up to 2 weeks to enter Iraq with refined oil. INSANE. The drivers must sleep in their trucks the entire time they wait. It's so ridiculous to see these gas-guzzling trucks waiting to bring oil into Iraq. The oil originated there but supposedly the refineries have been destroyed in the war so the oil must be processed in Turkey. However, the word on the street is that oil is being refined in Iraq and this is just another way to bankrupt Iraq. Sometimes the oil is even dumped when it reaches Iraq because it is not needed there. It is madness. The photo shows a long line of trucks parked along the Tigris River.


Selman's family is very welcoming and has treated us like royalty. Selman's village was destroyed 11 years ago in the fight against Kurdish nationalists. His family lives in a new large home in Silopi, which has quadrupled in size in the last 3 years due to the war in Iraq and the opportunities it has brought to this main border town. Since I do not speak Turkish or Kurdish, communication is slow but Bob and Selman are helpful and Selman's family is patient. They brought us a fabulous breakfast with fresh yogurt, olives, tahini, grape syrup, cucumbers, tomatoes, bread, and several types of handmade cheeses. Unbelievable. The daughters shined my shoes before we left the house today.


We have been walking around Silopi, where Bob and I (especially with my blue eyes) are an oddity. We stopped at two different weddings today and enjoyed the dancing, the beautiful outfits, and the incredible music! The first wedding had zurna and davul (large drum strapped to the player and played on both sides quite loudly) and the second wedding, held in the Roma (gypsy) section of town had electric saz, drum machine, and singers. The dancing is amazing with lots of knee bending and frantic shoulder movements. Using these scarves with the Kurdish colors would have caused the wedding to be stopped only a few years ago. I took lots of pictures and videos which I'll try to post later.






We are still running around town with Selman and his cousin Salih and they are trying to find a husband for me here! I don't think this is necessarily where I will settle down (so don't worry, Mom).