The differences were immediate. Zakho was embraced in a
spider’s web of roof-top cables. The streets narrow and numerous,
makeshift houses are tumbled together. By contrast, Silopi was far more
prosperous. The buildings were substantial, the streets wider and
cleaner.
The taxi driver advised us to book into a local hotel
and to get the porter to arrange car hire. Despite paying a full month’s
rental charge in advance, I was handed the key to a tired-looking Renault
that had clearly seen better days. However, it started first time and,
stowing our bags, we set out for Cizre with Leah driving the first leg. From
there we would take the road to Sirnak and distant Hakkari.
Progress was slow on a road which, at times, was no more
than a track winding tortuously through the mountains
