What was supposed to be a quick dash to the residence office to extend my tourist visa prior to leaving Erbil, turned into a bureaucratic nightmare. I arrived with an American I met at the hotel the day before. Before long we worked out that checkpoint 1 was the photocopy machine. Checkpoint 2 was a form collecting stand, checkpoint 3 was room 3 for some stamp, checkpoint 4 was room 17 for another stamp...2 hours later we were up to about checkpoint 10 at room something-or-another, for another stamp.
This is where it got interesting, in a rather dull sort of way. The American was told to go to room 17. And me? Room 11, where a large 'queue' (read: mass of men) awaited. These impatient men weren't waiting their turn however, they were waiting for their passports to reappear from the window for collection, and in the process blocking the path for others to hand their own passport in. Push and shove was required here. It appeared that by chance, the American had jumped the queue due a friendly English speaking staff member, and had gained about an hour on me! No matter, after 4 hours I finally had my new stamp, on one of the 5 new pages I had remaining in my passport (even though it was a small stamp).
Ahhhh, but there was a problem. Throughout the day I had been told I would receive a 5 day visa extension, then 4 days, then 1 week. In the end it was 3 days, in REPLACEMENT of the 4 days I still had remaining on my current visa. More than just a minor problem. After hunting down the only English speaking staff member, the problem was quickly rectified with a 1 week exte....no wait....2 week extension. Even up to the last second before stamping my passport they still hadn't made up their mind!
After a free, freshly squeezed orange juice at the bus station (despite my protests), I said my farewell to Erbil with mixed feelings. However, for a Western expat I imagine it would be one of the more comfortable developing countries to work in.
I spent the evening in Soran (aka Diana), where I had left my bicycle days earlier. After a delicious traditional meal at Talib's home, I had a friendly, translated discussion with Talib's friend about social issues in Kurdistan. Apparently, affordability of housing was a problem due to large increases in recent years. Some Kurds have returned in recent years from Western countries, to live in Kurdistan, bringing reasonable amounts of money with them. Just to mention some numbers, I learned that a friend had just built his house for US$60,000 plus US$20,000 for land, housing 5 or 6 family members.
Talib and his friend also believed the strong family unit that was part of Kurdish culture was under threat with the recent but significant exposures to Western culture. Apparently, satellite TV and billboards advertising Western products have become far more popular since 2003.
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