Motorcycle Explorer December 2014 Issue 3 | Page 10

A
ncient Mesopotamia is a very interesting
destination. But ... is it possible and safe to get
there by bike? They say that Kurdistan is
stable, the government maintains the security,
that things haveimproved since thelatest
bombings in Erbil in 2004 and 2007. However,
despite such a triumphant propaganda, the
truth is that the region is experiencing a
precarious balance. Turks, Syrians andIranians
do not look favorably upon the birth of an
independent Kurdish political entity. Not to
mention the Sunni terrorists, willing to blow
any normalization of the country.
M
y arrival in Istanbul coincided with a
suicide attack that the government blamed on
Kurdish separatists. What will I find in the
barren eastern tip of Turkey? Military, tanks,
controls. However,nobody bothered me. The
police looked at the motorcycle as we
approached the check point with curious but
not hostile mood. A greeting and the barriers
were opened without even asking
fordocumentation. That had nothing to do with
the police's attitude that I encountered in
Western Sahara, where the traveler is routinely
questioned.