The aim of this page is not to discuss the political situation in Iraq, and more particularly Iraqi Kurdistan. We simply wish to use this page, to which new content will gradually be added, to show what can be gained from a journey to Iraq. But before setting out, a number of preconceived notions must be dispelled.


Iraq and Kurdistan: a burden of prejudice

For most people, the first images that spring to mind are of conflict and war. The Gulf War and the American Invasion of Iraq in 2003 have understandably remained etched in everyone's memory. Iraqi Kurdistan, which was to a large extent spared by the latest conflict, nonetheless went through particularly difficult times itself, during the course of which its populations were crushed by the totalitarian forces of the former dictator of Iraq. For a while, the Kurds were riven by internal conflict which led to a form of civil war. But the situation has considerably improved since then: in claiming to be a "Switzerland of the Middle East", Iraqi Kurdistan proves that it has been able to overcome these contradictions and take full advantage of a particularly strong cultural identity. The diversity of its landscapes, from vast deserts to magnificent mountain ranges, make it a hikers' paradise. Covering a surface area of about 20% of the whole of Iraq, Kurdistan will constantly offer the traveller new horizons, vast plains and high mountains, as well as towns with the authentic charm that can only be found in oriental cities.