The Pass That Wasn't On The Map

“Its too steep their sir” and “Oh no, my friend that area is too cold now” and “You can’t travel on that road, their are too many soldiers, you will die”. Whilst there may have been a vain of truth in all the possible reasons why I shouldn’t cycle through Kurdistan along the D400 I am glad none put me off enough. Becuase if they had I would have missed one of the most amazing pieces of country I have ever visited. Judgement and evaluating risk is something I have never really worried about, maybe thats because I haven’t had the fortune of filling out too many Risk Assessment forms. However, now travelling alone in a very rural mountainous region of Kurdistan I was acutely aware of my personal situation and how reliant I was on my own perception. A couple of times I considered turning around or flagging down a truck for a ride because the road I was cycle has long cut through one of the longest but least heard of conflicts in Middle Eastern history. The Kurds.

Ortukoy

Cycling alone was and wasn’t what I expected. I suddenly felt freer to cycle as far and as fast as I wanted which instantly meant that I ended up doing crazy miles. I became aware of how alone I was in such a big country. It is easy when there are couple of you to form a little haven of famaliarity which can be quite comforting when you need it. However, this disappears when you travel alone, there is no back up if you’re down or ill and if you don’t feel in the mood to be talkative then nobody talks, unless its the army. I relished the opportunity of meeting people so defiant in their culture and sorry not angry at its long oppression. When I decided to head off for a week alone I simply plicked a road that was a little longer and more mountainous the others in order to give Robb and Ania a chance to catch up. What I didn’t realise was I’d picked a road that would take me over 2800m and 2 km from the Iraq border.

A Kurdish Shepherd

After six days and nearly 500km of riding I arrived in Van in one piece but more than a little exhausted. It left me to reflect on what was a very exciting but gruling couple of days. I was happy to see Ania and Robb, to have the company and the opportunity to share the judgement, but also eager to try cycling solo again in the not too distant future. We continued together along the edge of Van Lake, a salt water lake at 1600m before heading further north towards the Iranian border and a new country. So as I leave another country so quickly I look back on the last six weeks and try to think of time in my life when I’ve been more content and living more in the moment.

Muradiya Shepherds (Robb Maciag)

Tendurek Gecidi 2644m