Geo answer

One of the newest destinations for world travelers shows up in today’s Geo Quiz. It’s a chilly, rugged region of Iraq. Head north, and you’re in Turkey. Go east to Iran. Syria is to the west. And to the south…well, that’s the rest of Iraq.

A man prays in a mosque in the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk.A man prays in a mosque in the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk.

But this region is safer than most of the country. In fact, authorities here are promoting it as an international tourist destination. There are some interesting cities in the region, including Erbil, Dohuk, and Suleimaniya. And there are some historical ruins worth visiting.

Dohuk, IraqDohuk, Iraq

Sure enough, at least one American tour operator has shown an interest in the vacation possibilities here. Tourguide Janet Moore has taken a group of travelers. She says it wasn’t bad at all.

?You know you saw soldiers patrolling the streets not armed with major guns, obviously going into a hotel and this happens in many many parts of the world at this point you do go through a security machine each hotel would have that restaurants did not have that, you know, did they feel that war was close at hand? No you don’t, you do not feel it when you are there.?

So pack your bags and your Kurdish and Arabic phrase-books.

We’ll answer today’s Geo Quiz in a moment.

We’re going on a tour of Iraq. Not a tour of duty, mind you – a tour. The war in Iraq has made most of the country off limits for even the most intrepid travelers.

But today’s Geo Quiz sends us to a region of Iraq that’s welcoming tourists.

Janet Moore runs the California based Distant Horizons travel company. She’s already taken a group of 18 tourists there this summer and plans to return next spring?

Arbil (Erbil), IraqArbil (Erbil), Iraq

Iraqi Kurdistan – in northern Iraq — its capital is Arbil is the answer to our Geo Quiz. Listen: